. >>> when we decided to shoot "lockup: extended stay" at maricopa county jail in phoenix, arizona, we knew we were going to a place where most of america had heard about. it's a controversial jail with a controversial sheriff. our approach was to embed our crew for four months, i mean, really spend a lot of time and tell the true story of america's toughest jail. >> on any given day, there are more than 9,000 male and female inmates incarcerated at maricopa. most have not been convicted of the crimes with which they've been charged, but are on or are awaiting trial. they're housed in six different facilities. >> i would describe maricopa county jail as, like, no other jail i've ever seen before. first of all, the sheer volume of it is staggering. so just walking in there and figuring out who's important, how the systems work, even how you get through the doors is a challenge. >> go to the west gates, see officer von reagan. >> the maricopa county jail has been the subject of more media attention than probably any other jail in america. in recent years it's been due to the county's pol

this is going to be the last time i'm ever in a maricopa county jail. >> but john harrington seems tout life in maricopa. or maybe not. >> sheriff joe, i want to say thank you personally, for this kind of opportunity because my former job of counseling federal felons, anger management and their basic skills must not have been up to par. but this kind of thing right here really helps me. i'm building a lot of character in this situation. >> harrington, who once worked as a conflict resolution counselor before his aggravated assault conviction, has gotten a new job. >> this is my first day. i'm two hours in right now, just cleaning up. we keep cleaning, we keep cleaning, we mop, we do a couple of toilets. this is a women's holding cell. >> the chief benefit of the new job is that it earns him two for one time. meaning he gets an extra day off his sentence for each day he works. >> two for one so you'll be out in half the time. >> absolutely. >> how much longer? >> i don't even count the days, technically, because it's a really bad thing. it's like a bad omen, but i'm march 12th. i don't

jail. >>> located on the top floor of maricopa county's 4th avenue jail facility are the highest security male housing units. >> these are the worst in maricopa county. get them out of gp and stuff downstairs. those are the shock collars out there. get them out there, stuff calms down for a while. >> these inmates have either committed violent attacks in the jail or have been identified as gang members. and like all inmates, some are awaiting trial while others have been convicted and are appealing their verdicts or sentences. they are isolated in very stark cells, 23 hours a day and get one hour of rec time in an empty concrete room with a skylight located right next door to their cells. >> the rec pen is the same size as the cell so you go from one cell to another to walk in circles. it's life in solitary confinement. no cellmates, no card games, no chess, but that's life. >> without the distraction of television, radio or cellmates, even the most hardened criminals can break under the pressure. >> every 25 minutes we do our walks to check on inmates to make sure the inmates are safe. t

live claritin clear. >>> day-to-day security at the maricopa county jail in phoenix is handled by detentionheriff's deputies assigned to the jail and who are the front line in maintaining order. they're backed up by the jail's intelligence division, which is constantly gathering information on potential problems before they can escalate. >> the key's going to look like this. it's going to be pretty much just etched out of the toothbrush. >> okay. >> but we've got to hit them quick because if not he'll swallow it. >> the fourth avenue jail's intelligence division suspects one of its maximum security inmates of having a homemade handcuff key. >> do the cells in 4 bravo 200, do they have the back windows into the water wells? >> they do. >> if you call the briefing room and i don't answer right away, give me a couple minutes to get back here. >> sergeant nicholas heads the special response team that will attempt to retrieve the key. but to prevent the inmate from swallowing it, they must catch him by surprise. >> let's go to the water well. it's basically a plumber's access, you know, the toil

. >>> when we visited the special management unit at the maricopa county jail in phoenix, arizona, weere struck by how different it felt from the rest of the facility. >> this is where the killers, rapists, the most violent offenders are housed and when you get up there, it has a very feel than other areas of the jail and that's because there's an eerie silence. and the reason there is an eerie silence as opposed to other segregation units is becaused inmates are housed behind double sets of doors. this is as close to ahanibl lecter cell unit you can get. they walk out and they have their 45 minutes of recreation. each day and then, boom. right become into the cell without ever interacting with another inmate. so it has a very ominous feel when you walk through the special management unit and this is the path that i took when i went to meet shawn gaines. >> 29-year-old shawn gaines had spent most of the last six years in the special management unit. awaiting trial on a first degree murder charge that could land him on death row. >> i lived here longer than i ever lived in one spot in