shotts in scotland could easily be mistaken for college students, but shotts is considered the nation'sison and it's home to some of its most dangerous inmates, a large number of them are here for violent acts fuelled by a lethal combination of alcohol, drugs and knives. but they're not all youngsters. >> 60-year-old jimmy reid is about halfway through an 11-year-old sentence for culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the u.s. >> while this was the first time he'd killed a man, jimmy's drinking has resulted in numerous convictions. he's spent most of his adult life in prisons and his sister who lives in the u.s. says he should be thankful for that. >> if i lived in america, i would have been killed years ago. she said american police will zap you and kill you. >> jimmy was also carrying on the night before we met him. he had received several disciplinary reports for causing a disturbance. it started when he couldn't account for all of his prescription medication which is a prison requirement to prevent drug dealing. >> where did the other two go? >> i took them. they're mi

hmp shotts is a maximum security prison that houses more than 500 inmates who have also made their share of bad decisions. many of them were young men in their 20s whose alcohol and drug addictions led them to commit an array of crimes, often involving knives. the weapon of choice in scotland. then we met the inmate they could very well become. jimmy reid. >> if you lock me up i'll burn my peter. >> burn your peter? >> yeah. >> all right. >> his disciplinary hearing for a night full of harassing correctional staff. is more memorable than most we've ever covered. >> i admit that. >> yeah. i've let that escalate. i escalated that. >> reid was serving an 11-year sentence. he had stabbed a friend during an argument, and the man died. but reid's personal demon had made him no stranger to prison. >> how long have you been in prison? >> most of my life. >> why? what was your life like out there before prison? >> just spun out of control through alcohol, you know. >> jimmy reid was probably one of the most forthright inmates i've ever interviewed. he just was completely uncensored. very self-eff