Behind Bars: Hard Time | Extra Long Episode

this is the start of doing time in Ohio and one of the strictest prisons the state has to offer graham arm straight out inmates here have to toe the line or face the consequences for one year National Geographic followed the lives of inmates and officers in the state of Ohio it's a system bent on making inmates better filled with convicted felons who might already be worse got in my face this is a year of hard time [Music] this is how more than 50,000 people begin their day in the state of Ohio they are all behind bars in prison convicted felons doing time each inmate charts their own course assess their own routine some break the rules others get in fights so greatly and while most quietly served their sentence and go home they all begin their time the same way [Music] for the newly convicted this is the last view of the free world the small town of orient oh hi oh home to the correctional reception center known as CRC a prison of sixteen hundred inmates maximum-security the first stop for doing time here [Music] when that van pulls up to that back and you're going into a sally port that's filled with all that razor wire your minds in a fog you don't know what's going on and for that sick moment you'll have a smile on your face I'd in reality hitch pull up at that back gate this old it's time to pay the piper Ohio is home to the sixth largest prison system in America and CRC is the beginning this is where more than fourteen thousand inmates each year are sized up and classified and moved on to serve out their sentence but keeping the process flowing means some of the strictest control the inmates will see during their time movement on the yard is always in single file lines movement inside single file lines and breaking rank brings immediate action by the officers any pockets turn around arm straight out I will be watching for you the rest of time do you understand man yes sir yeah it is rigid control that could be seen everywhere you look at CRC rigid control that begins the moment new arrivals walk through the back door and enter a maze of blind corners and side rims that is intake they don't tolerate slang take your shower shoes off put one inside the other settle in front of you take the jumpsuit off sit on top shower shoes this is the first place they come they're completely stripped naked let's go that's good you gotta do what they say do when they say do it how they say do it hey all the way up fingers open some people know they're not used to it but they've been doing things they're waiting for so long pull your tongue up we're looking for contraband pills marijuana anything - David keister up there but max out that's the turning point yeah I've seen guys come through doors and just break completely down when they realize that they're no longer free independent American your property of the state of Ohio from that point on man intake is just the beginning of the classification process sit back look straight ahead and regardless of the crime every inmate undergoes the same scrutiny the key to surviving the whole thing has just a mentally be tough and try to adapt to everything and just do it and you have to do it instead of all that sink I mean if you don't do it they got something for you repeat offenders like Aaron white had been locked up before and he has a marking that stands out why what's this era I should say honor brother-in-law his tattoo represents the sex and nights the group classified as a white supremacist gang it is a symbol of how Aaron white chooses to do his time I like to walk tall I mean that expression walking tall I think that I intimidate just the way I look more than anything else that's why wearing my hair go ahead doing here when I'm outside I a lot here and here I shave it I always look pissed off and by walking around like that nobody messes with you white has already served eight years in Indiana now he's in again one year on felony theft he still faces a federal case for bank robbery I'm 35 I'm told at Pendleton I was an enforcer so when anybody old money I was a guy that had to go collected and nine times out of ten if they didn't have the money the guys would fight you and that's a lot of fighting I'm not here to make friends I'm me I'm here to go home from convicted robbers like white to murderers and rapists crc is the prison that sees it all and while most follow the rules and do their time peacefully inmates like Rodney Ruggles seem to come in with their own agenda I'm a short-timer so I don't care I got a reputation no matter what I do I'm gonna keep that especially when it comes behind these walls we broke the law on the street for not listening and doing what we wanted to do so we still come here with that mind I'm rebellious against Authority I do don't want to knew not what somebody tells me to do Ruggles is back in prison again and preparing himself for another stretch at CRC he's a repeat offender and no stranger to fights for me I consider fight and recreation it's sick and twisted when I begin throwing my fists I want to go until you can't move no more I don't plan for tomorrow I don't live one yesterday I just I gotta go with the flow it's just what you got to do in here as Ruggles and white settle in the business of CRC continues at intake where marques Hayes has just stepped off the bus that's getting his first taste of prison in Ohio there was a lot of stress going on women are sad you think about everything that you see and heard about prison how inmates get stabbed in it they think about all that just like when I used to watch it on TV I couldn't imagine myself in here so now I was like um saying what I was saying on TV today marks the beginning of the young inmates sentence at the end of the short road that led to conviction I was gang banging I was a type that it robbed people not me breaking in the house that's the type of person I would on a summer night in 2009 marques Hayes stole a car and took a joyride with a friend and I take the police on a high-speed chase in the car House report installing it charged me with third to comply and attempting grant death [Music] facing up to six years hard time Hayes took a plea and was sentenced to 20 months for attempted theft and running from the law it's 20 months to leave his former life behind [Music] I was young man was out there I was carrying guns and running the streets you know me reppin my hood and always looking for trouble she hit the lift yeah I have regrets but at the same time I gotta learn from the mistakes that I made Ohio may be the right place for a first-timer like Hayes to do his time here Prison is about more than just incarceration but the department offers rehabilitation programs in the hope that offenders never return but before the classrooms and the workshops there's the main business of CRC figuring out who the inmates are and classifying them and to keep that process moving haze and all new inmates live apart from the rest of the prison for the first three days and it's year called re unit where the rules of conduct are strict this is our to state of a high intake prison all right this is an orientation intake block you don't get telephone privileges you do not get recreation time you get no commissary this is not general population only thing you got to do is to sleep stay quiet and leave on or to personal conduct aside these sales will be upheld at all times our unit is the first stop the first cell in the first place where the officers lay down the rules for daily life at CRC you will not talk from time you come out of yourself time you get back in yourself we're not trying to scare them but you know the officers run the institution's around here not the inmates I yell out loud your effort ow that means get the hell up and get ready for chow you get fully dressed your ID step outside the cell keep your mouth shut I run a quiet block that's the way it's going to be I understand we ain't nothing to do we're in a small ass sale your cell with another man all right nothing to do keep yourself keep quiet try to keep mentally saying this out here all right you guys got that go ahead and lock it down the guys that have the bags and have not got a cell sign come up here and see me [Music] orientation marks the end of Hayes's first day at CRC all that remains is a cell assignment and a cellie who will be the new kids only company for the next 72 hours I'm only 30 years old but I can't sell with a kid if I was to have to pick a cellie I'd want him to be another me you know and I'm not the easiest to get along with myself because of picky but I have that right to be I moved in here first this is my cell he's just coming in to fill the other bit that's it I was 22 when I first got locked up and I got out when I was 30 and it seemed like the younger generation always tried to prove herself and they're always the troublemakers always case is assigned to sell 2051 his cell mate Erin white [Music] since I first stuff in here so the reality check is just something that really shocks you subscribe yeah I get to know I'm gonna get to it you got no choice but to do it you know that's really sitting on to think about it really ain't worth it and I'm like I'm only 18 I just turned 18 don't send a couple months ago so I'm saying this is it's an eye-opener for me [Music] [Applause] [Music] I just got to deal with I got accept the fact that I'm here keep tearing up keep one and they complaining about stuff ain't gonna change that it just made my time worse I feel it's the same for me I'm saying I did a lot of things that's wrong but get some time to take this to open up people's eyes who was out there moving too fast and I was one of them people and I'm in a place like this times what you make up you know it's all about you if you want your bet to be easy and you want to stay active just keep your mind on things and that's what you're gonna do but if you want to be a heart fit if you want to hurt that's when it's going to be hard top it was the mall up some oh it's day two at CRC for Marquis Hayes and Erin white and the prison veteran is teaching the new inmate his way of doing time what may look like a casual workout is an indoctrination of sorts a crash course in being a teenager behind bars being that young and everything is it's huge and you're really intimidated and when I was 18 I didn't know about nothing you see all right there's guys that want money there's guys that want sex there's guys that want both they're all over the place you got to stand up for yourself and you got to be willing to go all the way there you go people always see you know what you're doing so if you're working out like crazy you know the bigger you are the more prestigious you are in there and seeing that they know that yet nothing else so just why you carry yourself so the bigger you are you know the better off you are all the way around right now when you get out you look good too you know you want to look go ahead get out the joint so they've got Hazen white head out for the next step in the intake process the classification interview a brief set of questions that helps give the system the information it needs to determine the inmates security rating one being the lowest and five the highest for first timer is an ex-cons alike the process begins the same way thanks God the answers though can result in two very different paths how's he doing that blue chair have you ever been in prison anywhere else out of state or federal no sir all right why this your first time in Ohio prisons yep have you ever been in prison anywhere else yep where Indiana do you have any capes walkaways fade to appear well so was your charge on Broadway how much time did you do there since 10:00 are you scared of anyone in here yet no sir how much time did you do I have done five name/number date at the bottom go back out see the officer will tell you what you do next with no prison history the process ends here for Hayes you see the ulcer I'll tell you what you do next but White's previous time and a possible gang affiliation means stepping deeper into his past [Music] Jenny Gilliam Ohio bans gang activity in its prisons but it's an uphill battle there are 1,400 classified gangs in the system and the slightest sign of involvement can mean a higher security rating involve something at gain group organization I wasn't Indiana that for prison but I retired my left well game was involved in Cossacks and Knights it just depends on how much they dig up I mean I don't know if they're gonna do a lot of research into my bit in Indiana or not turtle it's not been all that long ago they might you know dig that up and if they do then they will most likely classify me higher White's past affiliation means the system will keep a close eye on him wherever he lands there's another step on White's path as a convict one that can change you for better or for worse they can do whatever they want to meet time still moving on I'm still going home someday because I don't kill anybody Hayes is learning the ropes from someone who's been in prison before and getting a lesson in the prison mentality here at CRC though the state of Ohio tries to offer a different path in the hope that in inmates first time in prison this also has last now you already know what gang Z's for y'all who don't about to find out yes please get old it is an effort that starts with the first-time offenders meeting where the hard realities of doing time are laid out by the lifers in the prison you know the first thing you want to do when you kind of prison everybody want to be tough and nobody in here tough because when you come to the back door somebody back there told you kid neck guess what you did you got neck this rooms full of people the society had to get rid of such a society could function right where the screw-ups mine this is your chance to change do you do the meeting is a scared straight program of sorts inmates who might never get out force the newcomers to face the consequences of their choices within three years two-thirds of you will be back in these chairs on your second bit if you don't fix yourself you're coming back there's no gray area about it you are not gonna be the same the day you walk out the door you're gonna be better or you're gonna be worse the fork in the road is in front of you take which other path you want as long as we got one of you guys for short timers like Hayes the system's efforts just might have an effect but others are harder to reach - 20 year-old Chaz white the first time offenders program is less about the road to rehabilitation than settling a score on the streets Chaz was a drug dealer and sitting across from him looks to be a mark but at least 20 years hard time ahead of him it looks like old habits are hard to break [Music] Chaz white was born in Columbus Ohio to a family already in the system both his father and uncles serving time and at an early age he started to chart his own course that's why years old I'm just like dad locked up when he out he running the streets ain't doing that the for my mom I had to do something stuff start selling cocaine soft is what we caught it on a January night in 2009 Chaz was arrested for shooting a man twice and leaving him for dead ten days later I get an indictment count one attempted murder count two aggravated robbery count three slums assault count for robbery count five robbery and count six you know found me guilty on every charge and sends me to 27 and a half years the Ohio Department of Corrections now at CRC it appears as as the street hustler is trying to get back in the game in the hand of the second inmate pre-stamped envelopes they are a down payment on an overdue debt [Music] salines you three envelopes but I'll tell you in return I want five or six of them is called interest which is normal I think two three four six almost if you and your heart are in your mind or whatever the case may be know that you don't have how can I put it the greatest intentions on pay me back where you know it's a possibility that you're not gonna pay me back don't take it just let me know in the front because I'm a thing you chomp oh so funny and I'm gonna give you something you don't want that's how people make a living you hustle you make money you do what you got to do Oh word March you own it trading of any sort is banned here in Ohio it is an inmate business that can breed jealousy debt and with it violence so CRC does its best to stop the illegal activity with regular shakedowns and cell searches there is no hard currency in prison so everything has value and here pre-stamped envelopes are treated like cash cash that can get you what you want coffee candy even contraband like tobacco this is prison money these are going for 50 bucks and reception a bag despite the prisons efforts though the trade goes on especially among inmates like Chaz his long sentence means that he's last in line for schooling and job training but here I mean he gets all stuff to live for gets a curious so it's like a block I came on the block Chaz is just two weeks into his time at CRC but has at least 20 years of prison ahead of him when you come to prison if you want you can run a store you can smoke dope drink hooch you can run around you can spend half your bit in the hole you've got a choice when you come in you can either stay how you are or get better but if you don't get any better you're probably coming back another day at CRC for Aaron white and Marquis Hayes and it's time to move out of our unit just like a Ford will change you know it's good to get out and get something else other surroundings other people other views of the outside everything is just the change is better the classification process is now complete and they're headed to general population [Music] the transfer means a new unit and new cellmates take the old convict and the new kid part ways Hayes's new unit is b3 and although control is tight all across CRC inmates say this tier is the strictest something the new kid needs to learn fast man this party is it lady back first shift cool what everybody said you ship down building them you in the way you're talking to me posed to be talking stepping out lines being allowed in the room talking through the windows anything like that man they're gonna give you what you got coming period saying they all they wanted respect we wind up wearing their house any minute so we follow that rule is plain and simple trying to stay out the way as much as you can for Erin white the transfer to b3 is his last at CRC in a matter of days you will ship out to face federal charges for bank robbery [Music] Heys is on his own now to make his own choices Chaz white is also on the move while others are taking classes Chaz is headed to the store store day comes once a week for inmates at CRC more than 350 items purchased with money put on inmates accounts by family and friends on the outside for most the cakes soups and soap offer a small relief from the daily routine but the goods also fuel the underground economy in a world without hard cash trading goods is strictly banned in the prison for inmates like Chaz though his long sentence means he's last in line for prison run programs the illegal trade represents a way to get back into the game life so drugs part of selling drugs is not Fame but popularity tonight the Chaz will divide up his take into easily sellable portions much as he did with drugs on the street me I could be the store man I might grow into being so much of being in prison and seeing the money making in the exodus actually that popularity to that there might be all I know Chaz is charting a course that can be a dangerous one behind bars continuing his life of crime and just like on the street crime here is punished inmates and cuffs are a daily situs ERC and most end up back here and segregation this is the hole for the rule breakers serve jail terms of sorts prison time continues but life back here means days on lockdown no phone calls no commissary no movement and today a familiar inmate has returned Rodney Ruggles Mundek name's rebel and that's what I do but I'd rather be seen as an assassin [Music] Ruggles rap sheet stretches over a decade drugs burglary assault each sentence was short but repeated parole violations had met Ruggles has been irregular in the system and the evolution shows whether by choice or by circumstance Ruggles fashions himself a predator something he seems to carry with him on the streets as well he's in prison for an attack at a bar after another man approached his girlfriend he grabbed my girlfriend fired front of her shirt I ran over I snatched him away from her slamming through the back door took him over to the motel and beat his ass beyond recognition I guess you could say I stomped his neck through his back and that was my intention when I seen him touch my girlfriend yeah and it was worth every day I'm doing right now for that [Music] Ruggles has a year to serve and is doing two weeks in the hole for fighting a fight involving his target of choice a class of inmates that to Ruggles stand out in the crowd sex offenders rapists and pedophiles I look for them yeah that's my hunt and it's thrilled to do so it's like going deer hunting you know you put a deer stand out there you wait you watch you listen and an experienced man at Hunt's that's that what he thrives on it's nice to find that pedophile out of 2,000 people it's like finding that buck and at 10,000 acres property you know there's my mark imma get it and I just enjoy it when I'm doing [Music] today Rodney Ruggles is having his day in court this is the rules infraction board our IP and it's the judicial system within the prison this is our be case number 0 9 - 0 0 261 today Ruggles is up on charges of fighting our IB Court is where cases against inmates are heard anything from insubordination to possessing drugs or tobacco to more serious charges such as assault and just like in the free world judicial system each crime as a sentence how'd you heard of conduct for honey played a role 19 fighting without weapons including as Gatien of warfighting gil we believe that your own free will yes is there anything pertinent you want to say about your case you know dudes the sex offender so I followed him up into his cell put him on a wall and he had my picture in his pocket okay what was it a picture of my kids okay your disposition be 12 days DC with credit rumbles we'll spend the next 12 days in segregation charges yes it's a price he's happy to pay [Applause] ohayo may pride itself on rehabilitation but the choice to do better comes down to the inmate and so far Ruggles has made his intentions clear [Music] you don't never know what's going to happen you know I mean one day to the next that's what prison is if you cross anybody in prison I mean you got that chance it's getting getting hurt up fistfights a lot of people get shanked like that you just don't play [Music] release day has come when the segregation hit at Ohio's intake prison he has served his time for fighting and today Rodney Ruggles is getting out of the hole [Music] just like the free world every crime in prison comes with the sentence and Ruggles fight got him 12 days now he's headed back out to general population when I step out on the compound wherever they put me at every one of these blocks stop sex offender in it at least a rapist and at least one pedophile my motivation is yeah 100 percent all 30 years since I was in diapers I was mad as hell at my dad night know who he was he's a sex offender itself my hate in my rage yeah that's where it comes from to me he's just another sex offender a pedophile but he's just number one on my list I [Music] come here I don't have no problems my reputation speaks for itself my institutional record speaks for itself I'm not proud of it but if I'm disrespected I'm gonna put my fist in her mouth if I find a pedophile you guys look for me in a hole I don't mind going but I don't want to go but that's just it is with this Ruggles release means to return to the normal routine at CRC and today inmates are on the move headed to the yard where twice a week units get helped or record this is rubbles first yard call since segregation and he and his crew are already clicking up out here the rules are simple and clear you stay out of my business I don't want nobody intruding on what I'm doing somebody loves you to find out we looking at just saying then you're gonna have problems respect in here is the most important number one thing that survived West Penitentiary prison yards are about territory territory you mark and hold today an inmate is trying to force his way into the group the ultimate sign of disrespect on the yard whatever that guy's name is just wouldn't shut up he should have never even been there he wasn't asked to be there I didn't invite him in my conversation and I surely didn't invite him and pushed between me and my other dude and touch me and just continue on running his mouth throw all of the bathrooms down my face dog people have a reputation and I got to keep mine behind these walls it's the mentality I'll just tell you what you want to do you want to do it I'm not here to impress nobody but I'm here to maintain my reputation for a my mentality Doug you want to do it you want to do it for real you want to do it for real I think so get out of my face [Music] it took everything I had in me not to put my hands on him and that's like it shocked me no I wanted him to step up and I want him to hit me as hard as I was fixing to hit him I didn't want him to be afraid no and I was hoping he'd fight hope you had hard found out everything he ain't got nothing but a blue shirt on and a ma ID Ruggles is back to his old ways and headed for trouble marques Hayes is entering his fourth week at Ohio's correctional reception center a month that has been a series of firsts first time in prison first time on lockdown first tutelage in the convict code and now he's facing another a first birthday behind bars they grow okay they're so bad here I appreciate that man and even in his new dorm he's still being looked out for by the old-timers couple noodles and chips okay a little snack food and whatever but I can't get a lot you know I mean I got this dog like I said I got so much more so I'm taking a strike with it something I appreciate you got a little girl to go home told us missing me I'm saying my family it's a really no sin making my last birthday I spend in jail [Music] the birthday is a reminder of the things left behind but it also seems to be another lesson for the young invader [Music] that there may be a way to do time well and haze is taking full advantage of the things Ohio system has to offer it's not my school today I'd be so cool give this little process started mine to make this my last trip you know I'm set a lot of people come back but I trying to fall back into my own way so I'm the Chinese the best way I can [Music] the pay's is settling into his time hitting a stride and establishing a routine routine though can bring with it comfort and complacency pay attention turn around and while the system offers opportunities to change for the better get your shoulder on the wall CRC is still a prison built on control what are you doing out of line and with that control come strict standards of conduct get out your channel along what's the problem huh spread your legs when I asked you do something I don't need all that attorneys need do it and that's the end of it I don't need to know you I don't need to get your face I don't need to Pat you down you do what you're told understood at CRC is the little things like an untucked shirt or sagging pants that make you stand out to the officers and once noticed you will be dealt with [Music] you've got em good English what we're doing and my right wrong it looks like beautiful stuff you wants to take with dudes on the goddamn top range you understand [Music] funny tech gonna walk down everything and smile like it's funny you can come right back down or we can finish it go stand by your door [Music] the segregation unit at Ohio's CRC is the jail within the prison for those who break the rules do their time and today a regular has returned Rodney Ruggles he's back in the hole again another stretch on lockdown for fighting I'd rather do my time back here yeah because I ain't bothered with a bunch of idiots but at the same time I don't want to live with whoever they put in my cell I want to do it by myself I wake up in the morning at 5 o'clock and work out an hour before breakfast ate breakfast work out for an hour lay down take a nap wake up do the same thing for dinner and work out two hours before I go to bed that's how I do my time I guess some people will see me as dangerous don't disrespect me I'm not disrespecting you I don't know if people see me as a threat or how they see me but hopefully they see that they do that when I do look at me they know it's Revell coming I don't know segregation is the end of the line for Rodney Ruggles at CRC he'll sit in the hall as punishment until his time here is done for Marquis Hays though time at CRC ends as it does for most hey today he's being prepped to for his transfer Paes is being sent to a medium security prison-- closer to home the challenge ahead is staying on the right path the path to rehabilitation when I first came in here I was lost I was young I had a mind set up some think I am already being blind to the fact of what's really going on with me crying and going through that I was going through one gonna trying so I had to man up and really accept what I had I realize he's got to keep myself motivated and keep striving for the better one flawed mistake to bring you back in here you're gonna say today's gonna be all right got your back Chaz white is preparing for his ride out as well what facing at least 20 years the road ahead is a long one I want to be here a month I made my mountain in the five years if allowed maybe for funny you say our time rude guys gotta chop the amanda busting let's just office dip the Bronco white is headed to the higher security side of Ross Correctional Institution with the temptations of living the convict life are everyone I hope I just don't deal with any violence at the same time because I mean just food a little bit of taste here I already know enough about Ross this about hustling survival and a style word for me I just hope I don't get back into mom mode all the way customers are wildly getting greedy that's when everything turned [Music] Heys and white dress for the transfer their time here at CRC has come to an end two very different inmates there's two very different paths forward and the choices they make will determine whether or not they'll do hard time [Music] it's just another day at Ohio's correctional reception center the vans and buses keep pulling in new arrivals new sentences new inmates to the system like we're pants up in the state of Ohio a prison sentence begins with a bus ride today Chaz white and 15 other inmates are making the hour-long journey to Ross Correctional Institution and a state with over 50,000 people behind bars Ross is a tough place to do time and for Chaz white it's about to become home last name your number white six one eight six six - I've never been incarcerated Bama life I'm trying to keep you thinking it this is really going to hurt me today is day one of a 20-year sentence it's his first time in prison but the 20 year old already has a sense of what's to come people do say he's them the radar and you won't get in trouble but to me that's not necessarily true I definitely want to try my best to avoid clicking up again into a game while I'm there because I know I know I was coming under peer pressure to get myself into more trouble across each inmate will find their own way to do time and with every choice will be certain consequences because here trouble is always just around the corner and this afternoon a fight breaks out in unit 4 a floor officers contain the incident and lock down the other end mates I've had my eye of the two fighters one has already gone to segregation the other is on his way to the infirmary some I came in I thought he'd like you know he'd be braiding my hair you know we've been talking a little bit buddy with who you feel the reasons behind the fight aren't clear and despite the vigilance of the officers survival here can still be a constant battle [Music] with over 2,500 inmates spread over several camps Ross is a world unto itself medium security inmates live on the south side and to the north is closed security the level reserved for violent offenders gangs and disciplinary cases it's a rough population that needs constant management you can prevent some things but you can't prevent everything we're outnumbered on any given day 250 to 1 obviously you don't have them all behind bars all the time so you have to have you know ability to communicate close security is exactly where Chaz white is heading his first cell assignment is in 1a on the north side and this is one house one a this is a home for the next 20 with two tiers lined with two men cells every dorm is its own community inmates are allowed a certain amount of private property including televisions and lock boxes opens for most of the day cell doors stay open giving inmates the freedom to interact like Eve on the block and see new faces it is like design I see new faces you want to see we're looking at you so you know if you got get asked my or anybody get at you Chad's may be new to prison but he already has a leg up on the game I sell drugs not gonna lie to you start off with marijuana did not graduated as people say to sell cocaine and crack I can make thirty two hundred there about six days his seven-year career hustling drugs ended in January 2009 when he was accused of shooting a friend in the face and the chest and leaving him for dead he claims there was someone else who did the shooting but the victim named Chaz is the culprit when I was in court after they have read every charge guilty every charge guilty the judge said well mr. Wright i sentence you to 27 and a half years in Ohio Department of Corrections when you tell me that I was like it was like a dream I didn't believe it I kind of feel like it's a struggle going on between myself sometimes I wanted to look at Ross as there's an opportunity a positive opportunity waiting there for me but people here already see it as my life is over wait it's already over with I got all this time it's all over [Music] prisons are full of traps and temptations that can make hard criminals even worse Ohio system tries to step in the schooling and programs intended to help inmates survive prison the right way but demand for programs is high so priority goes to the short timers that puts inmates like Chaz at the bottom of the list and left to their own devices on the tiers it's a cat-and-mouse game because it's my job to follow the rules and a lot of inmates will tell you it's their job to break them Chaz already slipped before coming to Ross he spent five weeks at Ohio's orientation prison where he was illegally trading commissary with other inmates and making threats to anyone who didn't pay up I was given one hustle on here also was I used to us as I was 12 I used to hustle so I kind of got back to my house self I wish I was I wish I didn't do that kind of put me back in the street that's a bad day now his first move in 1a is a show of confidence honestly I'm not nervous enough and I'm comms on a worm ready he leaves herself and hits to the tears I could have settled my bed setting chair got in my Bible game I'll just sit down just looking around filling everybody out honestly my first thing is to look super looking at me and sue probably I'm into it first there's a lot of people I could tell you for the first 50 people I could tell all he saw well I could tell I'll handle pump I'll just fill their body out you could tell as soon as they walk through the door if they're gonna make it or not you either come in here and it either says Viking or victim Northside to tear they call me it says ebook call me Lord sucks has no mother people right out from different camps or CRC just got here and I instantly who is he no where is he from he doesn't gain bang he's a probably a target you know I'm against all fight for this and I see them out there my age at least mom I saw my mother who myself which is nothing that's my daddy what I mean he wants to set his reputation fast because here at Ross a new target is born every day Donald Smith is much worse for aware following the incident in his unit earlier today all right this is the part that hurts okay [Music] we call them that's event according to him this wasn't a fight it was an attack a full-scale ambushed by two other inmates all for a pair of sneakers basically they was young calling for my choice that's what I was coming for give my George Hale nah I'm not about to let y'all get my shoes anything I got in there I don't know it they hit me with a live bass spring what it was but I heard wanted to do the same man hit him with the not hitting with your life all right what the hell is going by for many for real I seen him grab my white shoes so I chased out from a being that's what we got into fighting the range I want you to my suit cuz that's all I got [Music] the inmate he fought is already in segregation leaving one other attacker Smith can only heal and wait and hope justice is served [Music] one week into his 20-year sentence Chaz white is starting to settle in this is actually just like again old college campus like I'm in college right now but just full of hoods just everybody from everywhere every part is just here with one out of 25 residents under correctional supervision the Ohio prison system is one of the biggest in America but the state is trying to cut back the numbers with a focus on rehabilitation every inmate is required to get a job and work for a small income new comers start off as porters and janitors but over the years they can work their way up toward higher skilled jobs with better pay at Ross the top tier occupation is building furniture in the prison factory and the top salary $80 a month now Chaz finds himself starting at the bottom with his first prison job I'm a porter I got a porter job and really that's I called it the CIO's but all you do is clean here ain't really meant so much to the job just sweep the steps and waffle boss there was the morning shift tell me they won't call it a job Russell knew with dozens of Porter's in his dorm alone chances new job takes only 15 minutes a day to finish and earns him $12 a month it was that easy sleeping them up that's it all prison salaries are low so almost everyone improvises it's an illegal system farters and trades known as the hustle it takes money to survive anywhere you go even improve so if you don't hustle I mean you're not gonna die but you're not gonna live will you get the proverbial you know three hots and a cot you know that's true but have you seen the three hots the system offers the essentials three meals a day basic hygiene and clothing the good stuff comes from the inmate commissary from snack food and soda to name-brand shampoo these are the little extras that make time bearable but with money from friends and family on the outside but those that don't have the resources can always fall back on a hustle I have to have something to eat since I can't afford to go to the store and buy it I have to hustle it up you know it's just like having a second job in any given dorm there might be a chef a tailor a lawyer and most are compensated in instant coffee the currency in prison is coffee instead of is that I packed a cigarette they just day by his pace Luke offers inmates can only buy coffee crystals from the inmates store but they parcel them out as currency at store this coffee is on like 225 $2.25 that's $4 right here that is $4 coffee is then traded for other items or services dues and enjoy did get tattoos so guys tell me what they want and then just draw it on paper and that's like my little hustle in their joint so the thing that sells hot his girls and fat asses something would have gun you know I'm saying toasters goes in there you know I'm saying he did it over self no matter what I do this because it's kind of hard living off $15 a month I made a CD case for a guy just so he can carry it around his neck why he works out and stuff that's what he wanted people start hearing that you're a tailor you know the past two weeks I've been sewing like at least six hours a day failure of any of these points renders enforcement of the plea unconstitutional my niche is basically legal work it's what I do if you did it as a hustle you're either number one or number two because everybody needs a lawyer you find the jailhouse lawyer will do research and find that one flaw that'll open that door up for you so you got to be bulletproof in prison and a jailhouse lawyer and a store man are probably the two most important things in prison in that order for the inmates with money on their account the most lucrative hustles running an underground store from a cell similar to buying wholesale and selling retail running a store means you have all the commissary you spend your money and you give guys two coffees for three back or 10 soups for 15 soups back and that's how you make your your money this is just my store as opposed to the commissary store I buy extra chips and soups and coffees and guys get hungry they come and get them and I go out here and beat the streets and I find guys to take the product off my hand and bring it back at an interest rate and you know cuz I don't eat chips myself but I buy them because other guys eat them jazz a former street hustler has already found his piece of the action here coffee is like we either be plant space or just standing by the table the costume I park in here but I know what I do a set of coffee everybody else they sell it blast I sell real real real big shots cuz I don't drink coffee I'm selling big shots for the same price they sell it for the little ones so I'm getting the most business I buy about five bags of coffee they probably make around close to $100 they'll keep this boom and that's what I'll call the blow me every hustle is a behind-the-scenes enterprise because in Ohio trading or bartering of any kind is illegal even something small like selling coffee can create debt and incite jealousy officers try to stay on top of hustles with shakedowns to root out extra commissary and contraband just a routine shake down the block unless anything they're not supposed to have we usually take a block a day and go through it back out on sales real quick [Music] despite the prisons efforts the hustles continue fueling the underground economy and where there's an economy there's also crime some people move drugs in prison some people are its commissary stores in prison some people who are an extortion game in prison that's what I brought you don't got to pay me anything for around me got it paid me juice Reynolds is a prison thief like a Dilla just come back we can commissary whatever I wait till you get myself right before you shut the door I'll come in behind me you know what time it is I'm gone there with my gloves and my mouthpiece in and hand him a laundry bag right now yeah come back if it ain't feel I'm looking different I'm looking different I want to say I was a bad kid I was just aventuras juice Reynolds life and crime started too early he says that at 13 he stole bikes and cars then moved on to homes and stores I tell them they know what time it is what time it is open up them cash registers I love to save at 16 he was caught robbing a restaurant at gunpoint burning himself eight years in closed security what worked for him on the outside he learned to bring inside to prison walls I just keep kept the same with no walls on the streets the only thing different is I don't got a gun you don't say I use my hands I guess you have no other way to make money but then to take it from somebody you know let's not glorify it and call it a hustle I mean thief is just simply that he's a thief it's not a hard job it's not even a talented job to do like that you know I'm saying they young they don't know you know Sandy's dudes don't even know how to breathe you're gonna know who the thieves are but that thief got about three or four guys five guys he might be in a gang gonna say so he got him he got his gang rolling with him there's nothing for them to do but strong-arm somebody only a strong survive you know I'm saying and I think if I was with somebody do it to me you know so I just know I'd rather me doughnut system or yesterday or somebody doing to me you know we are amazed we all in here for doing something wrong you don't do that oh I had no sympathy for guys like juice this is just part of prison reality everyone has to survive and everyone is fair game [Music] over in the infirmary Donald Smith is starting to recover from his attack last week it's an ironic fate for someone who's here on eight year sentence for aggravated robbery hey I've got people in this state I want to beat it no war I was doing dirt out down the street he's catching outlive me [Music] I'm here to better myself educate myself I know a lot of these dudes in here from the street like let them know I'm not on that stuff man no that's I stuff Oh I know it is come catching up with me [Music] total find you everywhere Nandu right thing you can out there on the street try to do the right thing the right thing so it finds you right now things may be looking up for him the prison has a name of the possible second attacker and they've brought them in for investigation if juice Reynolds is found guilty at the attack the punishment could be anything from a stint in segregation to extra charges that could add to his prison time this could be a major setback for the prison predator I call it the den of iniquity where violence is respected more than intelligence you want to do it for real you want to do it for real I think so the person doesn't care whether or not you have intelligence or not in everyday life and here it's it's a matter of a person disliking you for who you are what you're about what you look like whether you've got money and another person doesn't have money you have envy and envy is the breed of all hate inside of the penitentiary system the north side of Ross Correctional Institution has some of the hardest felons in Ohio it's a tough population to manage and an even tougher one to break into one month into a sentence Chaz white is finding his way and moving up his coffee trade is gaining momentum and he's learning that in prison money leads to power I didn't been here how month but I think cuz a couple dudes in here that's already jealous of me because within my first week I bought these new pair of shoes down here three bucks and I bought these sandals and I bought a porter a pair of Jordans for $60 and now I got new clothes I got a bunch of new clothes you don't see me in that raggedy no more I know some people jealous of me not even gonna lie make myself sound like a king but I already got followers the populaire in years someone like the popularity on the streets because the store man or the dude I got all the goodies that everybody won or whatever it's like popular I'm the youngest dude in here no he's older dudes follow me just because I'm making this a little bit of money as he rises in status he's also clicking up with a group of Crips in one a he's real new so I could understand him 1 get his name up Stacy Aires sees potential in Chaz to climb the ranks I like ties a lot man you know I'm saying like and uh that's best let my little homie for real and I but I he got a lot of time to do you know I'm saying and now he's young for me and he got a lot of time to do he wants to a area get a name out there for his self and um he wants to really get it established a dorm is toughest one a is where reputations are made and broken but not everyone needs a piece of the action Troy Mary is another recent arrival but unlike Chaz white he isn't trying to make a name for himself after two previous sentences served at Ross his reputation is set in stone Ross Correctional Institution as where I've grown up at [Music] I've been involved with the white Aryan resistance had been in the hole because of gang-related activity I've experienced a level of violence that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy his third time here could be a short stint he has a parole hearing coming up that will determine if he can leave prison early if he slips he could spend more years in prison well that may be an incentive to stay clean for someone like Mary it's still no guarantee drama jumps off you got you got the a B's in here you got blood you got Crips you got everything you can think of if it escalates these guys get out of control who's gonna affect a small affect me if they come my way do I need to sharpen something up real quick do I need to get a lock in a sock what do I need to do you know I mean to protect me I'm a convict I just get involved if things start happening out here but I don't want and it's starting to affect me I get upset there's one of those things being institutionalized whatever you wanna call it it just comes natural to you they bring the drama inside this cell it'll be a mistake right there man I'd be a mistake these days 1a is a minefield a couple of gang fights have created major tensions on the tiers leaving both inmates and officers on high alert we work here every day we can tell when guys are not doing what they normally do every day you just you can feel tension sometimes there's two people that were two from two different cities that animosity because of something that they were representing and names got called an apologies didn't get said so it got deep real quick usually be gang fight city fights Columbus versus Cleveland Cleveland ours is systemic you definitely don't want to let things get out of hand and it can explode into a lot bigger things and just two guys fighting it's real car you know you got these guys we're out here playing chess checkers games you know I collect all fun and games but with a leg and the twinkle in my eye for someone like Chazz an unstable atmosphere can be an opportunity what half of Isis I'll be here I like it was too quick jazz is looking funny but yes that's exactly what he wants for China that's gonna be like a huge boost in his ego you know I'm Sam like our manchild yeah we don't we don't want a chasm it's gonna be like it's what we call like a booty bully status like so now he can blow through here like and nobody really say nothing to him I respect it but I just wish he would be more more like patient man just more settled down to me three flights in the week three fights in the day still winning beats who listen at the end of the day the money the power and the muscle are all about making his place at Ross setting his reputation so he could do time on his own terms before punishment every inmate has a pre-hearing to see if there's enough evidence for a disciplinary trial Rose you're charged with rule 19 which is fighting with without a weapon including the instigation over the perpetuation of a fight now are you guilty or not guilty what happened down straight up the court say yeah I see the one dough I was all bloody chaser m8 Mosley then I think I know and made him and made Moses on top race fighting it's everybod light down a lockdown about ten minutes later they come get me what they search me I had no it was blood everywhere I had no blood on me no scars no nothing so they told you that you your name to come up after that yeah they told me my name came up there were no witnesses of juice fighting but he's a self-described troublemaker and thief since the officer has named you in the conduct report as one of the participants you will have to go to our ib2 any witnesses Stanley core what do you expect card to testify to I mean yeah I was at do card save me when everybody was upstairs fighting I thought of course take one too when they told us to lock down all right young man is enough suspicion for a trial and his will be later this week Prison is in of itself community with a pecking order and a natural disaster that takes place every day every day somebody gets in a fight every day somebody goes to a hall every day somebody gets extorted in a facility of over 2,000 convicted felons there are bound to be rule breakers and when they get caught they come to segregation the jail within the prison [Music] inmates call it the hole where they await trial and serve out their sentences for anything from fighting to disrespecting officers this is where time slows to a crawl the better part of twenty three hours a day or spent locked down in a Cell inmates get one hour a day for exercise either indoors or outside in cages any movement requires an officer and a set of handcuffs how long an inmate stays is determined by the rules infraction board or Riv which serves as both judge and jury sir on the above date and time I see a Montgomery was conducting a cell search in for B cell 211 when I found an 8 inch shank hidden beneath the bottom dresser drawer my just morning her he told me he been who the knife was in there they hear the charges determined guilt and choose a punishment she pled not guilty the pale in fact found you guilty the panel believes that homemade weapon was found in yourself penalty to be imposed is 15 days disciplinary control no credit time sir it isn't a science but it's the next best thing to a proper trial how you doing young man I'm standing right there on deck for today's board are Frisco Moseley and juice Reynolds the two accused of attacking and robbing Donald Smith first up is mostly the man seemed fighting with Smith on the tear so what was this entire incident over I just told you dude just came right on the top rings like so why would you come at just run up up up on you and swing on he was like woozi the panel felt you guilty of this based on your self omission of swinging back on inmate Smith out teeth swallow you to panel find you guilty of the rule 19 violation it's a clear verdict ten days of segregation for fighting but juice is a bit more complicated he is here on a tip not on solid evidence how do you wish depleted his rule 19 violations not guilty downstairs I was at the court table playing this thing I know I see the inmate Smith fight chasing the other inmate it was chasing me on the top ranch they start fighting on the top range seal toes to lock it down at the time this altercation took place where exactly were you at at the court tape when I seen him just on top when he was chasing do it a run it's outrage I did the court thing defendants in front of the board are allowed to call a witness to back up their story but chooses witness only muddies the waters he has called you for a witness here today I really don't know what happened I was making something to eat it was almost counts on I'll talk to you is that the cartel yeah when that went down it was almost counseling somewhere always yet when he was making me sign mine waiver Mike wait wrong and you only see that at this time it was in my cell when the CEOs broke the whole when they told everybody to start locking it down that's when uh everybody split from the table and you know I'm saying people start making a fool she stated use down there setting a car table yeah yeah I was when it happened they want to see us tell everybody break up like it down that's when I wanted to sail to get the bowls and then I read out today I want to go lie down I'll lock you straight down his alibi seems unclear to the board is there anything else what's that but just like in a real trial with no concrete evidence there is no guilt they may run the paddle file you're not guilty to rule 19 violation due to insufficient evidence so juice is free to go and that's officer beating a charge at Riv is a rare thing at Ross and today juice caught a lucky break I believed it they believed it I thought it was gonna be worse than what it really was though because with killing building the sale dough just has some exclusive George I hadn't happened he you know I'm saying right now they represented nothing to meet the person that is money ching-ching when I saved him the dollar signs you know the robbery was a setup a successful hit by juice and his crew [Music] so my homeboy act like is about to braid his hair he opened at the door from I shut the door like listen I'm gonna ask you one time what hills that he tried to play dumb so I got to kick him in his face stomp him out I guess he regained composure or whatever so now we had to punish him again stop him out again kicking him in his face by they block he ran out chasing us I thought you had a knife so that's why I ran I've got to run on the top rainy that's why well y'all came and see me because I didn't get cooked it was the prison version of a perfect crime now he has other business to attend to gathering the troops and tracking down the stolen sneakers he's hoping to move the shoes but first he has to find them in prison a new pair of Nike Jordans can sell for over $200 nobody on his crew seems to know where they are they'll sit Chris Coghlan could afford those you come you got him I guess on my tooth in there unless it was a sari while he was beating his case in the hole he may have lost the spoils this seems that even in prison there's no honor among thieves don't say I'm just trying to see what my product set that's why I'd unpack nothing forever no I'm saying it's gonna be here are y'all gonna be going back to no for another fight going on now for mine [Music] for the last two months Chaz has been trying to build a kind of future in prison to set up an easier way to do his 20 years but today his past caught up with him pistol yesterday now let in the mill the wrong kind of let it I thought I was beautiful one my lord seeks its own God walk from state Ohio I gotta pay restitution the letter is an order for Chas to pay restitution to the victim he's convicted of shooting twice and the debt is $20,000 once it goes through almost anything on his account from friends family verse $12 a month's salary will go toward repayment with no more money on his books he can't run his store and prison terms Chas is bankrupt no money there's no survival here I won't beat about nothing no hygiene no nothing and they taking their thing I get whatever gets it on there so the money I got him there right now they taken and Kane just hustle for nothing they take my money I won't being developed nothing at all just new uh take my money on indeed there's one place he can go for help okay scratchy constrictor and that's Ronald dudas one days jailhouse lawyer okay you do want to object to that withdraw this money from your account do you want to mark down do dudas is not a real lawyer he's here on multiple charges including fraud and corruption as a white-collar criminal at Ross his prison hustle was offering legal advice to guys with nowhere else to turn here's what we're gonna do what I did was I got a motion here for you cuz I don't know what they gave you there but I did this one up before for somebody it's a motion to vacate payment of court costs fines restitution requirement there's a seventy thirty percent chance of the courts saying no we're not going to give this to you we may have to file ten motions in the next three or four years but it'll come to fruition at the end so you don't want to have a whole lot of money until we answer this I wouldn't have a whole lot coming in on your books I got a couple hundred on it right now if you got a couple hard on there now sausage to spend one hundred at Stone absolutely and then next time spend another hundred get yourself all the hygiene stuff that you need buy extra and keep that until we get this rectified it'll work with dude is helping him have healed a restitution Chas will try to clear us account this commissary might be my last one though just telling me spend as much money as I can just in case they're you trying to take my money I mean this could be my last time buying something out eat there's a good chance he will spend the next 20 years broke and for someone used to living the high life that's a problem you can't survive offer $9 a month just think about you being on the street had making making $9 a month it's the same thing here what you gonna do for $9 a month you gonna switch a game you wanna start robbing it's gonna bring the real Chaz or long white out to be honest with you I'm good supervising them choice I'm gonna have to get super violent super greedy grime is what I call it I'm mad too they take my money I mean what else my want half I'm gonna have some money like I told you earlier I'm passing money my [ __ ] I'm a hassle fool my buck for Chaz prison poverty is not an option and if he can't make his own money there may be a new jailhouse robber at Ross [Music] I guess it's the no respecting these young people or you go around stealing their stuff okay [Music] Donald Smith is rethinking his own strategy for doing time now out of the infirmary he's just been dealt another blow based on the evidence he received a 15 day sentence for fighting a punishment made worse by the news that juice got off scot-free right I'm not going back on the compound on the 12th I know if I go back out there and I'm gonna be right you know just things I got my mind things I can do to these people man and do that to me I will never go home Smith knows that if he fights back he could risk losing early release or get more charges if he doesn't fight he'll be an even bigger target for other robbers and gangs I'll have to I don't have to fight but I know we're not saying I will I'm I'm telling my I want to get all I wanted to go to another institution that's what they could do send me anywhere maybe up north somewhere anywhere he's asked for a transfer to another prison the only way he feels he can survive Ross now is to leave [Music] this isn't an experience that's gonna go away you know it'll be over one day but it won't go away if you want easy time you can make your time easy if you want a hard time you can make it hard segregation time is over for donald smith but true to his word he's staying put hey Smith you dancing compound you going back to the compound I won't go back on my comp I don't want to deal with these people first I don't want to see them dudes they take me and rob me I'm saying that I see these dudes they're gonna be nice the ticket reads out approximately 8:30 a.m. and me Smith five nine five seven two four refused to leave 5a is that correct yes okay why did you refuse to come out I don't know I mean I just want I won't go back out to your compound what something going on out there yeah a lot that's why I won't compare your compound we're Satoshi [Music] we I don't have any control as to whether you get transferred or not [Music] as request for a transfer as in but if it doesn't go through his remaining prison years may be here in the hole they gonna keep doing that stuff man what they're doing man with them people don't people like that man a lot of people like that man and give that stuff man paint me slow back here but like you still study and I've got my Spanish book I was studying on my Spanish and also I'm back here on the back here for a while I like to ski studying or my school with all that has happened Smith still looks to the future and prepares for a life back on the street [Music] it's transfer time at Ross Correctional Institution when inmates board the buses once again to be reshuffled throughout the state some moves are expected others are not try Mary got word early this morning that he's off to another prison the surprise transfer marks the end of his third stay at Ross and the start of a new chapter behind bars it doesn't even matter whether it's Ohio State Penitentiary is lucasville it's Lebanon it doesn't matter you know you you are what you make of the time that you do turn around face man that's what it is to me I have to hurry up now to get nowhere I'm not going anywhere I'm inside of a prison I'm pulling this out of a prison on a van and I want to go to another prison [Music] Donald Smith is also heading out after three months of self-imposed exile in the hole his transfer request has come through he's leaving Ross for another close security prison there he'll have a clean slate and the wisdom of the tough lesson is burned here going somewhere new hey I was I think I was a little too flashy the things I had like I was a target made myself a target I'll be ready for another situation like this how Co coming I'm gonna be much differences still in prison it's not the prison four inmates surviving Ross means choosing your hustle obey the rules or break them join the game or break it apart here the choices come fast the consequences even faster we get preyed on no say we give prey don't kill his give prey folk over in for a juice Reynolds has settled back in he's tracked down the shoes he stole from Smith and sold them for commissary everything gun-control whole situation was good unpack great they got simply better the compound for a little minute it was gone you know so was I've got it back that was gone so order to beat me you got to live in my shoes you know I'm saying they live in a simple life out there you don't say it inside the prison is it's not to say kill or be killed for now juice will hang back but always with an eye out for his next mark nah can't keep that know me you know police coming here search I'm gonna lay low for a little minute though my name is kind of hot right now you know I'm saying so I'm just waiting my name clear out which things cool back down back to the basics across the north side and won a Chaz White is still fighting his restitution and taking stock of his situation with no money on his books and a long sentence ahead the street hustler is setting a new course behind bars all the knees the wheel I got to eat that needle got to Barrow onions the wheel right here so I'll hook my needle absolute ass all the knee not too bad he's trying to make a battery pair he's building a crude tattoo gun and he's almost open for business with another illegal way to make his commissary Ohio is the sixth largest prison system in the nation over 50,000 convicted felons from drug dealers to murderers first-timers to hardened career criminals make their home in the state's prisons but one kind of inmate is testing the system in unique ways women this is Hale dorm the closed security wing of Ohio's largest women's prison where 200 of the prison's most problematic inmates are housed a hotbed of fights contraband trades and illegal relationships here I mean they don't stop nothing the Ohio Reformatory for women known as orw has one of the toughest prisons in the system to manage 2,600 female inmates from minimum security to death row all in one place mood swings different attitudes everybody's clashing together [Music] we argue we bicker we met pick for women women like to start ladies and overseeing it all is warden Jeanine shrimp okay who's hands-on approach means she'll be almost every female offender in this state you starting off on the right foot huh I see it absolutely is a serious prison we have every level of security at this facility and each one has to be managed accordingly and we don't curtail or change in any way our policies because they are females and like every other prison in Ohio a war W it gives inmates a choice follow the rules or face the consequences and right now one cellblock is testing its limits Hale dorm home to less than 10% of orw inmates but one of the prisons biggest challenges officers here constantly enforced the prison standards this is me taking your record way get on your beds but inmate Dorie Terrell and tends to do her time differently Terrell serving 30 to life for a murder charge and she's one of our w's most notorious inmates every dorm has what we call the players the people who are being abusive or aggressive to people and Dorie is one of those those individuals we're doing a I swear it's a god I'm cussing you out later love it but Terrell's kind of power sets her apart from the other inmates of Hale and takes a form unique to the woman's world she is the head of a prison pseudo family while men's prisons have their gangs female inmates do more than click up they create families and play distinct roles more vulnerable inmates in need of protection become daughters and nieces more masculine women nephews and brothers and the most dominant inmates women like Dorie Terrell assumed the role of father or uncle is my nephew Carlo those definitely where's my brother bar right here this is my daughter Leah pool right here this is my baby right here I talked to her mom on the phone and she let her mom know that I'm like her daddy love me some call me uncle Dory al Kudo some call me Dad I see you later they don't call me Mom or I to you or anything like that because I am very very aggressive you're just are you afraid all the way around the board do you care this bone if God isn't there for you like that when you got up yep should've came with you we're in the joint coming to me you get aggressive advice from me like your dad or your uncle you get a good aggressive consequences I was handling this sorry nothing I don't let nobody get in the senior when I'm at you when I'm getting on y'all let nobody say to me about you Terrel has adopted 30 young inmates into her surrogate family and while role-playing may seem like a game building close relationships is key to every inmates survival in a dorm like hale where rivalries can lead to violence Terrell offers protection in exchange family members cook clean and obey her authority I wouldn't necessarily say I use them I would say I trade with them was a give-and-take thing if I buy the food and I run around and I hustle and make a way for us to eat cuz your family's not sending you anything you're gonna wash my dishes [Music] then maybe you don't you're not gonna eat my food if we were a biological family dad brings fool home the children do the dishes Maria got like me at the center I like being in control you know I like being in control of myself and in control of them here give me some ice baby do I enjoy the power I acknowledge the power my mother won't talk to me the way she talks to me my father would talk to me the way my dish you talk to me you ain't do what you're supposed to do oh good oh go get it you flat out she go she gonna cuss you out showers made me today relationships between inmates are a fact of life here ranging from cliques like Terrell's to romantic couples I want a relationship I want somebody's gonna love me and care for me someone that I could love and care for as well you wanna make me coffee too right yeah sir give me yours she cooks for me she makes my bed when it's messed up she does what I rock too hard to do she's my girlfriend hair baby here's your girl where's I set and I take care of her and I'll make sure nobody messes with her I love you I do do everything for her I enjoy doing Bharani because I care about her a lot sexual relationships of any kind are illegal at orw they can lead to power struggles exploitation and black market hustles because females are relationship based individuals anytime there are folks who break the rules whether they still whether they are fighting it certainly will be based on a relationship one of the things that makes our investigators successful is knowing who relates to who and how those relationships connect to whatever it is that they are trying to get to the bottom of the prison takes a hard line officer shakedown cells and bunks daily searching for signs of illegal activity from trading store goods to running tattoos and I noticed a lot of drawings in here this is a good indication that there could be tattooing going on or certain kind of bends they'll blow the ink out that's what do you want to use for cat chilling cigarettes lighters expired meds they pop out and fill the inside of some of these people are really street smart they know things that we don't know and they can take some of this medication make it into something you know some people aren't aware of and still get some type of high off of it could be used for a screwdriver you can take anything apart with that so we'll be taking that they like to steal these from each other these are hot commodities this amount of property here it might seem kind of like minor but they run stores we'll unveil this stuff and it could escalate into fights or in more serious issues for female offenders who break the rules whether for hustling or violence o RW solution is segregation where problem inmates are locked down 23 hours a day and Eileen Rose is now among them she may not look in but roses considered one of our w's most dangerous inmates [Music] I hit the officer when I lock in a sock the maker shut up it was gonna be worse than she got because I was gonna make a shank and cut her [Music] I have a history on this farm of us on many people officers I feel like I am gonna be here to rest of my life so why should I even care [Music] roses attack on the officer I mean she'll now be locked down in isolation it's a serious offense one that warden trim will see to personally brooms listen to me you're not no you're not I'm not gonna now that to happen and I'm telling you listen to me you are not going to be able to assault our officers and think that we're going to continue to let that happen you better settle in nicely because you're going to be here for a good long time I'm gonna show DCO is that I'm just gonna do my time my way [Music] this offender has a history of assaulted behavior and we don't take that lightly we are just not going to have any tolerance for offenders who attempt to physically harm our staff and we'll take whatever extreme measures we need to take yes if you get her deescalate she's upset with me right now [Music] Eileen Rose will remain in segregation time to cool down on lockdown waiting to face further punishment for one of the prison's most serious offenses attacking an officer [Music] [Applause] ever been in a house full of women none as big a lot of arguing you told me to go to the back of the line but she's lying because I asked her about that I gave you direct order now you want to use phone I have over 300 women that I have to ensure their safety officer IVA Dunbar has worked at the Ohio Reformatory for women for 12 years her job is to make sure new inmates fall in line with the system's rules rules established the moment they first arrive at intake each week female offenders come to orw from counties all over the state this is the first stop in the process where the freshly convicted leave the free world behind they've been found guilty of everything from parole violations to murder right the majority though for short timers I'm here because I made a stupid decision I'm a drug addict and I get a job so here for three years regardless of the sentence it can be a frightening transition it's just the first day and you feel get really really nervous it's scary you don't know what's gonna happen to you in the first person if you're gonna be able to adapt to everything but you're gonna have to not knowing what's going to happen here like not knowing what I'm gonna see I've only been this far I don't know what's around the corner I've never been in trouble in my life I've never been to prison is my first time being a prison or jail 19 year old Breanna Smith has just arrived at orw on a four-year sentence for carrying 150 pounds of marijuana across state lines the first time I get greedy and do something for extra money thinking it's easy I get caught and I had a great life for a night a normal 19 year old up until then I tried not to cry I haven't cried until I got here today each year over 3,000 new inmates arrive at orw adding to an inmate population that's already 200 percent over capacity to handle the influx and keep security levels straight and separate orw relies on a color code system lower security wear shirts with green collars they have more privileges less supervision and a bigger yard and close security the inmates of Hale wear pink and live under tight supervision 24 hours a day eventually all new inmates will enter general population but for now they must go through reception here 350 inmates live on open bunks for up to eight weeks while the prison figures out their security classification this is where the officers set the tone for time at orw hi ladies pay attention real quick if you want respect you're gonna have to give it this starts it there it all falls back on to you following the rules we do not care what you've done to get here we only care about what you do while you're here every new inmate has to toe the line and follow strict rules but Jody Fetty is also thinking about what she left behind [Music] my son came he's extremely brave and he's only nine years old he knows I'm in trouble he just does not know 25 to life he has he has no idea what that means I'm so scared he's gonna ask me when are you coming home because I don't have that answer [Music] Fetty is serving 25 to life for her part in a home invasion gone wrong on July 2nd 2009 Fetty drunken high approached the house of an elderly man sheriff's deputies say 27 year-old Jody Fetty knocked on his door and asked to use the phone because her car broke down while she distracted him three accomplices broke into the house robbed the man and beat him so severely that he was left paralyzed when the victim later died Fetty was convicted of complicity to murder five little minutes changed so many lives the victim's family my family mine it's very painful for me to know now I'm involved in a a crime that had taken another man's life I think about that every day not one day goes by I don't think about why I'm here [Music] Fetty is just two weeks into her 25-year sentence and soon she will enter general population 25 years of being away in a new life in a new world did you know nothing about yeah this is mind-blowing you've entered the gates of hell spending decades in prison is a terrifying prospect but orw runs on a philosophy that might make the time go by easier Ohio is one of the only correctional systems with the word rehabilitation in his name and orw takes the mandate seriously here education and job training are fundamental to inmate life this worksheet shows us some clue words some keys on how to identify any idea most offenders would be re-entering back into society our job is to send a better person out that came in to help rebuild this person's life to assist them in getting back in society and being productive but orw philosophy is being put to the test as growing numbers of women pour into prison each year they bring with them their own unique challenges I hate got sent here I was eight and a half months pregnant and I was once in your mode dilated ready to give birth to a child Heather O'Brien is serving six months at orw with her five month old daughter for forging a cheque the culmination of a life of homelessness and drug addiction at 20 years old she's the youngest mother in a unit like few others in the nation oh our w's residential nursery prison is meant to be a punishment but life in the nursery is a far cry from the crowded dorms of orw here short time offenders like O Brien are getting a rare opportunity to live with their babies at their side segregated from general population complete with inmate nannies supplies support and lessons on how to be a mother I think it's easier being a mother in prison because out there you have to worry about like oh where you're gonna get the diapers from or how am I gonna be able to pay for things in here you got a free bed you got free food I can stay clean and I can take responsibility for my actions and be able to learn like what it's like to be able to bond with my child across the country thousands of women come to prison pregnant each year and most of their children land in foster care or with family on the outside [Music] O'Brien is one of the lucky ones but her luck might be about to change [Music] she's getting released in six days I'm the type of person that lives on the wild side of things and it gets me into trouble a lot when I do they basically will not be in the same neighborhood I used to be in where I used to do the drugs I'm still young I want to live my life but at the same time I got another life I got to take care of Heather O'Brien has six days to make her choice leave her former life behind or fall back into it and the stakes are high if she returns to prison on another charge she comes back without her child everybody gotta hustle you're doing something that's gonna bring home the money you're playing something because you gotta survive up in a spot like this by any means necessary it's stored eya orw and business is booming the prison provides three meals a day the inmates can still buy the comforts of home at the prison commissary with credit put on their books by family and friends store however is more than what it seems in a world without money Goods become currency items like soda and instant coffee are traded for everything from extra clothing to prescription drugs I sell my medication to survive the medication my pain medication you know it's a lot of addicts in here and they use the medications for a substitute for drugs like cocaine and crack whatever but every exchange gathers interest putting inmates who can't pay into dangerous debt you a pop you gonna bring me to bed will you go to the commissary we give you two bucks back no cuz you ain't me last time okay trust these one that we are criminals some people don't never pay their debts and then that's when the fights break out it's all illegal but I mean what they'd all know while hurdle we got one girl on a fence and she's obviously trying to talk to a a green shirt how are w's officers are always on the lookout for illegal behavior they always kind of think ahead bill even planned times and Bates would exchange contraband and it's just a continuous battle trying to keep up with contraband and and property I don't want to say it's a losing battle but it keeps us on our toes definitely but warden trim knows that taking the pulse of a women's prison demands more than just surveillance it requires a personal touch hi ladies how's everybody doing okay it's very important that they be able to talk to me and Phil at least it keeps us safe because they're willing to talk and there may be information that they have that we need to know every day the warden makes her rounds giving inmates a chance to approach her one-on-one she said I don't give you see young shot an immense prison simply interacting with officials can get you labeled as a snitch but at a r:w the inmates talk and the warden is there to listen I encourage them to come and talk to me it's one way that I get information the truth lies in the middle and it's my job to find out the truth the warden makes it her business to know about the lives of her inmates women like Dorie Terrell the patriarch to a group of inmates mimicking a free world family she wants to have a following if you will to make her feel good about herself HRO Papio and what you also find with the female population is that if they were abused when they were on the outside when they come to us all of a sudden they kind of morph into the abuser on the outside Terrell was a mother of four who fell into a life of crime through prostitution a fall that accelerated when one of her children was sexually assaulted by her fiance my whole life changed I didn't want to leave my children anymore to go to work for eight hours every day so I started doing what I had to do I started like trying to rob people and trying to con people so I can hurry up back home to my children Terrell claims that she's spiraled and small-time hustles gave way to violent crime in 2001 she stood by as her brother gunned down one of her customers in a motel parking lot she was arrested one month later as sentenced to 30 to life I lost when I really loved the day I got sentenced to these gates so nothing else mattered I was angry and I took it out on people facing at least 30 years away from her real children Terrell started building a new family inside prison by any means necessary in the beginning it didn't start out a good thing I was a monster I would give them a choice you can leave there's nothing else out there though nobody's gonna care like I care Terrel punished disobedient family members dragging them into the bathroom out of the sight of the correctional staff if one of the women I was with they disobey me I would line them up put vaseline on the hanger and I would whip them I would chase them with high irons tie bras around their necks I saw myself as a destroyer as a beast as a monster back then yes I did one of turell's House Rules stay out of trouble and off the administration's radar a rule that has just been broken surveillance cameras have picked up on a fight in progress between inmates and hale and one of them is Dori Charles younger prison brother it's behaviors that Tyrell won't tolerate from when I step on this farm I wanted to be a maximum security ma I did this by choice I do think I am a dangerous person to kids I'm unpredictable and I have a list of people that I'm gonna get it the Warren decides to let me out ever again I have a list of people that I will hurt in the segregation unit of orw inmate Eileen Rose is going before the rules infraction board she's facing charges that she assaulted an officer charges that make her not only one of our w's most dangerous inmates but also among its most difficult to manage this is Rosa frenchbird April 13 2010 your ticket today is causing read attempting to cause physical harm to another with a weapon okay how do you plead a rule five guilty I had all intentions of cutting her with a razor I saw and watched for two days plotting her dad and I'm saying this on record if they don't take the necessary actions I'm gonna kill her it's not the first lock in the Sauk incident and you know that your assaulted behavior the threats the weapons Trey throwing lock throwing all of that has got to stop if you ever want to leave or W you cannot do that I mean she's not and she's still alive so I didn't do that bad guy stuck out segregation is orw s most extreme sanction for bad behavior the threat of isolation is enough to keep most inmates in check but Rose isn't like most inmates there's another dimension to her assaults one that makes punishing her work complicated she claims that she hears voices voices that command her to her officers and lately she hasn't been taking all of her medication I don't like hurting people but when I come off the medication it makes me more violent it's like I can't stay out of my head we currently have over a thousand offenders on our mental health caseload 50% of our offenders are on psychotropic medications it's not just dealing with an offender who's come to you who've committed a crime now you add an additional layer and now you're dealing with a person who is suffering from schizophrenia or somebody who may have some sort of behavioral disorder mental illness is an issue in every prison but female inmates are more likely than men to seek treatment for these offenders orw cannot be simply a punishment it must also shield them from the strains of general population balancing the roles of prison and mental hospital is one of our w's toughest management challenges each day o RW runs the largest pill call in the Ohio prison system and nearly half of the women receive mental health medication but for some female offenders no treatment can protect them for the pressures of prison life [Music] what happened I mean this I know you were doing just fine watch what truth did you have some sort of encounter with an inmate or another staff or what she stashed a couple of pieces of razor blade on the sides of her cheek and that's what she used to just inflict the wounds it's fairly common I would almost use the word routine several times a week at some point in our operation we have someone who is on some sort of crisis watch or suicide watch oftentimes what happens with a lot of our female offenders their way of coping with any crisis situations initially is to hurt themselves and do self inflicting wounds on themselves as opposed to reaching out to some intervention Aileen rose was offered mental health assistance instead she chose the path of violence of seeking out segregation I'm not a people person at all and I'd rather be in segregation because you know here I'll have to do it nobody but myself there's a lot of different ways that it may manipulate the system we see it every day in different circumstances this is a disciplinary unit but because she enjoys that kind of seclusion it does not seem like a punishment to her throws for her actions the system is left with few choices we're finding you guilty of the violation 15 days from now to the 27th in addition we'll recommend that you have a security level review do you want an appeal no come on up here let's get signed Rosa's punishment is local control and with it up to six months in the hole by putting her back here we can ensure that that officer is safe so though she does get what she wants we make sure that our staff is safe and to me that's a fair trade as Rose settles into segregation Jody Fetty is still working their way through reception and feeling the weight of doing time definitely feels like I've lost my mind and I'm trying to find it in here 23 days and span it's been a crazy ride that's for sure the reality of this world that I'm living now of course was not in my plans for the future so now I'm here to make the best of it I have to find how to do that and as of now it feels nearly impossible I still feel like I'm gonna wake up I miss my mom my son all kinds of things that flowed through my mind Fetty has been in reception for three weeks and her release to general population is fast approaching a release that will take her to either the green world or the pink [Music] nineteen-year-old Brianna Smith has been in reception for one week now breaking into life in prison but today she's getting a respite from the routine the first contact with the outside world in two weeks he was just telling me he missed me it heard him just come home every day and see my car in the driveway that he hasn't moved it since I've been gone I was really naive person and I took a lot of things for granted when I was out there every day you can feel myself change more and more this place makes you a different person it makes you a stronger person you have to be strong you can't be weak when you're in a place like this and take it as a learning experience and think of how you can better yourself from being in this place every day and how you can make yourself better for when you go home oh I forgot my hoodie at the Ohio Reformatory for women is the final day of Heather O'Brien's nine month sentence [Music] [Applause] all right today's the last day I'm really excited I can't wait you listen to my mom haven't seen it for years so I'm really happy I can't believe it I'm actually gonna be walking out these doors in a couple hours I guess it's something I gotta kind of face because I mean I'm gonna be an independent mob pretty soul you know you're gonna go over to the hospital to medical records inside where these papers over there [Music] twenty forty sixty eighty five thirty seven okay O'Brien is about to take her five-month-old daughter outside the prison gates for the first time I'm happy because I believe me I get to be free from this prison but at the same time it was scared because living in the room like this you get used to it and be able to go out into the real world and realizing okay I'm out here in the real world and I got a chance to mess up to the counter for seconds and I got a lot of help in here out there it's gonna be me my baby and that's it that's kind of like it's gonna be our own family and trying to get things back in order the road ahead is a tough one O'Brien is leaving orw with $85 and leaving behind the support of the prison nursery one slip and she'll be back inside I'm gonna lose everything I do know that Bobo is my child and that's what scares me the most while Heather O'Brien is about to confront the temptations of the free world another family is facing tests of its own yesterday inhale the rowdiest doormat orw two inmates squared off when one says the other disrespected her one of the inmates was michelle birth and now she's in the hole for fighting but her behavior might carry other consequences Birds pseudo brother is Dorie Terrell and Terrell has a history of assaulting family members for stepping out of line a pattern of abuse that the prison wouldn't allow one woman she went into the unit and told them that I was forcing them to iron my clothes forcing them to take weapons for someone tattoo my name all over their body forcing them to cook a wet night and if they acted up I would jump on them or they would jump on each other which was pretty much true officers responded with force and Tyrell was put in isolation but rather than hardening the patriarchy Tyrell claims the punishment changed her from an abuser into a protector I came out it would hold your own attitude I was like wait a minute yo what I've been showing y'all is not who he's supposed to be doing hello y'all today Terrell says she is seeking a different way to do her time me being there for these kids it helps me to you know it motivates me it makes me feel good about my life and where I'm at today yeah I feel like I'm redeeming myself for being away from my 17 year old my 13 year old we doing this time we don't do it together but you gonna have to step up your game you're gonna have to not let this win you're not gonna let it kill you I'm not gonna let it happen if you and I'm glad it should give me inspiration to a very inspirational person I love you discussing me later on how I was living and how I was being women and all that you know this has gotta end any deal but the prison is skeptical of turell's transformation I don't think she's remorseful I think she makes a lot of excuses for why she did what she did do I think that she has completely stopped beating up on people no do I believe she's a sociopath I absolutely do believe that oh are W is the primary prison for women in the state which means that the prison is stuck with Dorie Terrell for the next 20 years and she will fight for her family ties if the authorities tried to set what I'm doing down they wouldn't be able to change my children my nieces nephews they wouldn't be able to change their feelings for me women still flock to me and they still believe in me and they've still with me because they don't want to be alone and I will tell them you always have a home with me [Music] inmate life it's what you make of it it's a growing process for you to not have a criminal mind the thing I'm still learning is to do right cuz that's something I didn't do that's why I'm here Jody Fetty has been an orm use reception wing for one month now settling into her routines and breaking into life in prison but everything she's learned is about to be put to the test 30 to 70 top on the hill Bay seven six top because of the severity of her crime she's going to the pink world an assignment to hail the toughest unit and the prison today I am leaving admissions and going into a population level 3 security I'm feeling a little nervous I'm feeling a little relieved this place is getting to me stay away from the people those idiots stay to yourself everything will be all right [Music] I want to help gonna be really rough crowd it's gonna take some time to adjust and find any kind of peace make the best of it Michael is definitely to get out of the pink world as soon as I can and when I get more programs or schooling it'll be better even in prison you know you have to earn it and if you're stuck in the drama of sex and violence you're not going anywhere I won't be comfortable and I won't allow myself because that's what I think the prison has me the system has me I might mess up but I'm gonna try my damnedest not to the transfer to Heil marks the end of the first month of Jody fetty's 25 to life sentence and even with good behavior it will be a year before she is eligible for a review of her security classification a year she'll be spending in hail [Music] Arleen Rose continues to sit in segregation where she'll remain for up to six months I got myself I paced back and forth back and forth all day long I talked to voices in my head Tom okay she is now one of only three maximum security inmates at oru and warden Janine trim is still gathering the information necessary to keep the prison running every offender is held accountable for the things that they have done and their punishment is being here the jury and the judge have sentence them to a duration of time our job is to send a better person out that came in Dorie Terrell continues to do her time at Hale and build her family behind bars I'm never leaving their side but I will add on to it I know that there will be more and they'll embrace each other and I'm going to do some this is your sister and this is your nephew and it's your brother and already a new inmate has caught the eye of the queen of the door I was this job so far until happen I had no idea that I hadn't strength and I've found because sometimes I don't need to know how I get through one day of on how much you know me or you 9:00 a.m. and already today the Ross Correctional Institution is on high alert an officer is down in unit 4 a punched in the face by an inmate knocked out left cold on the floor officers raised to the scene and now the attacker an old-school inmate named Buster Johnson was headed to the hole to await his fate will you worms for the feast around spring but left foot right foot spring bush's book but back at the scene of the crime the inmates have already rendered a verdict he put his hands on that man admit no he had I don't say you had to go but it was that's the fart I think they took her they were gracious they better than us or some name better than us it'd be got a deal attacking an officer is something many inmates talk about but rarely act on lashing out means breaking a cardinal rule of doing time never touch staff members and the punishment is severe behind bars the line between control and chaos is held in check by the rules but to some rules are made to be broken and it's the job of the system to catch the offenders and dole out the punishment [Music] Ross Correctional Institution houses 2,600 inmates of all kinds a potent mix of newcomers and old-timers low security inmates - threatening gangs all watching each other and being watched it's razor wire and concrete block a fenced-in city of felons felons that earned a prison sentence for breaking the law felons that are doing hard time and while most accept their fate some continue to fight the system and each other you know the talking me do what some real they go shoot you like search for the field fighter I gotta do what I gotta do I ain't going home with no casket we pop off when they're stitching in the pot or New York everybody gets what they need to be so it's time to rumble it's time to rumble we'll do it for real you want to do it for real these are the rule breakers confrontational relentless defiant just because these guys were incarcerated for being a criminal in the street it doesn't stop when it gets in here they're constantly working on being a criminal these guys have 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year to outsmart us to outwit us to get over on this temple Rob sells some people sell dope some people sell pills got guys that run tickets you got guys that run stores make needles make ink shoot tattoos some of these dudes they - will be dead and doing like that they just running around stealing trying to run game all other people know sign it do all kind of that's the only way to survive the CIO's tennis and all the water you don't get by me and I'll give I got something over your white shirt take it off I want to see your t-shirts so really the rule breakers are the biggest challenge to the system the loud minority under constant watch these guys are dangerous and it's our job keep it fella moaning keep some control of them know what they're doing try to try to predict what they're gonna do next these guys are always looking for an edge that week Lincoln it's a cat-and-mouse game because it's my job to follow the rules and a lot of inmates will tell you it's their job to break it at Ross the challenges come daily and problems can flare up at any moment then it's time to respond this afternoon emergency workers have been called to unit 4 a on the heels of a vicious fight weapons were involved and the assailant is already in custody it's not the first time this inmate has been involved in an attack and given his history it probably won't be his last I thought the lone wolf is a heartland walk believe me I've been walking that one most of my life Nathaniel blacker has always chosen to live by his own rules and lead a life of crime that makes him a regular in prison I've always been bad influence I'm the one that your parents have always warned you about her my parents didn't have anything to do I turned 18 they yeah well don't don't come around my type of deal so I've really never had no kind of chance there I have stuck out on my own what am I supposed to do you know I mean I have to eat survive he's a piece of work he's very unpredictable he's volatile he could go for months without having any problems and then go completely nut ball and you have two minutes Blacker's in on a seven-year sentence for aggravated robbery in 2004 armed with a butcher's knife he robbed a carry-out store in broad daylight blacker threatened the clerk and fled the scene with a bag full of cash he broke the rules of society and behind bars little has changed what's this all tell me I mean you tell me I'm asking you to lumpiness I don't know you only a creaky like my house really I mean you act like a conflict now I do understand that so there it is the only thing I've learned how to do in here is become a heartless piece real you know I stand out from the crowd I'm not you're not your typical prisoner I'm me I'm a one-man army a one-man wrecking crew blacker may live by his own set of rules but now he has to face the consequences for his actions there were more than 1,200 inmate assaults last year in the prison's of Ohio those are the incidents that get reported many inmate fights take place out of sight and back rooms or behind the cell door what happens is they go in there they fight you know wit come out like nothing happened you honor me if somebody gets beat up really bad then he'll get cleaned up first then he'll come out here go to his cell and he'll lay low once we healed up that's just how it works when it comes to attacks on officers though inmates have nowhere to hide there were over 900 incidents against staff in Ohio prisons last year and while most of them were minor every assault is handled swiftly something buster Johnson has come to understand he's entering his fifth day on segregation after striking an officer and knocking him out this isn't in just having so quick man what's supposed to happen no Sam's is the sperm only thing my mind is flip [Music] Buster Johnson has had sudden bursts of violence in the past he shot a man in 1992 and served five years while out on parole Johnson stormed into a crowded bar after his cousin had an altercation with another man he pumped three 22 caliber rounds into the body of the victim was arrested and sentenced to 28 years for attempted murder all over in a split second a choice that cost Buster Johnson his life in the free world been a cycle that Johnson has just repeated the wife sure was doing a routine search would get searched every day really we had a iron stolen it's a pot iron that the inmates used to iron her clothes so we're shaking down cells looking for the iron he was going to our belongings to see you know what was stolen whatnot you know I had all my receipts go you know I'm a notice and other things looking for other contraband at the time well I was in about the third cell which is inmate Johnson cell and I start looking at his TV which had numbers scratched out of it and so I'm asking him about the TV see if it's a stolen TV or what the deal was he becomes kind of irate and argumentative so I'll ask him step out of the cell he wants to keep arguing I say it again it was a louder voice I say step out of the cell he acts like he's gonna comply and he says okay then and looks down and starts to go out of the cell so when he did then I turned around not fire on him no saying he dropped to the ground and you know I looked at him I didn't realize how hard I had seen blood screen on his nose mouth and I was like wow I know I just turned around through a lazy right and he he went to sleep I never had any problems out of inmate Johnson before that happened it's almost like I didn't know and meet Johnson even though he was there Johnson snapped again and now faces the possibility of criminal charges for assaulting an officer and with them more time he's just one of the 2,600 convicted felons at Ross 2,600 men who broke the rules of society each inmate heard the guilty verdict heard the judge issue a sentence that eventually sent them here while most quietly do their time for some breaking the rules is a way of life and with each violation comes consequences [Music] [Music] the visitation room at the Ross Correctional Institution the front line between hard time and freedom there are more than 20,000 visits a year one of the few places where inmates can hear the sound of children laugh talk smile and while most come here for the touch of a loved one's hand some used this direct contact with the outside world as an opportunity so on the other side of the wall every motion is being watched every gesture is scrutinized you never know what it's going to happen you just have to be ready I've seen heroin crack marijuana pills not any kind oxycottons annexes I've seen to come out of babies diapers I've seen it come out of grandma's brawl they do it and I fetch it try to visitation requires constant vigilance a watchful eye for rule breakers and today that effort has paid off what seemed like a standard visit between an inmate and his girlfriend is a cover for something else in the bag balloons filled with drugs balloons this inmate is eating [Music] you could not see one balloon he sandwiched them between two Doritos and act like he was just eating those Doritos he was pretty slick really it was just a hunch that that's what was going on I sent an officer over to check the bag and there was balloons in the bag normally when you see balloons you got to assume that there's more than what she found for her part the girlfriend is detained and faces potential drug charges the inmate Justin Davis is under an arrest of sorts as well held in a special weighing of the prison since Davis swallowed most of the evidence the prison is now waiting for it to come out it's called defecation watch the inmate is brought over here he strip-searched he's put in a room by himself the water's turned off there is a stainless steel pan but over the commode an officer is assigned to watch him 24/7 the application watch the lights they own 24 hours I never knew this room they don't give me no to brush I can't take a shower another day you feel me since he found them three balloons he figured if I swallow some more so since that you gotta wake the process I'll be going through your system so you get him out once he has to have a bowel movement the officer will watch him if he passes something the supervisor is notified we come over and we go through the feces looking for the drugs it's an unpleasant but mandatory waiting game and the latest chapter in a continuing life of crime [Applause] [Music] whatever was poppin that's what I was selling crack the powder to experienced we [Applause] [Music] on the street Justin Davis was a hustler and has a rap sheet that includes convictions for robbery and drug possession in 2008 while Davis was out on parole he was found with an automatic weapon equipped with a silencer Davis was sentenced to a total of six years this is the second time Davis has been caught with drugs in just nine months a sign that the hustler is determined to continue the activities he learned on the street behind bars [Applause] you went to prison to where anything could be a hustle you feel me because only thing people want is something that reminds them of the street or something that they can't get in here money and here is a bag of coffee goes for around $3 there's nothing free in the penitentiary not one thing these guys it's making the money pay to get their own clothes on for the visits they pay someone to clean their tennis shoes do their laundry do their dishes but small-time hustles have a limited rate of return the real profits lie in the black market in contraband and drugs my own take pride in what I do I just take pride in Who I am especially when it kind of business I'm Oh excellent business person supply and demand you feel me in prison that's how it is you supply demand for something that I would have paid $50 for on the street you feel me and probably only made like 70 to $100 off of I can bring it in here and make anywhere from 35 to 4500 off of it who wouldn't you don't think that's worth the risk but in the prison black market the risk goes beyond getting caught Davis's drugs have been confiscated if he sold these drugs already and chances are that he has if he can't deliver the drugs than the people that he sold it to is good either expect their money back or they're gonna expect her drugs and if he can't deliver that then potentially he has a real problem for his own personal safety out in the yard because they're going to collect the one way or another from stopping the flow of drugs and contraband is a constant challenge at Ross a daily effort to disrupt the illegal trade one that builds as the system takes a hard line builds to full-scale shakedowns by the srt the prison special force sorry del mundo a modified clairaut and dozers is gonna take one a looking for major contraband that's shanks any drugs inmates gonna be strip searched at the door she will go in and shakedown you're done Oh put them back in the cell move on to the next step put your hands nothing you can't see be safe [Music] wha-oh Oh shakedowns of this size are rare meant to make a point break the rules and you'll be dealt with [Music] I'll be doing we're coming in the door that was the area that the inmates were yelling from one of that corner first reason bro we want to send a message right off the bat that we're not we're not playing today this is real the speed is of the essence although the inmates are unlocked out contraband can still be hidden be flushed down the toilet or thrown out the window [Applause] every cell is tossed every bed stripped every potential hiding place is probed [Music] it's not long before the search yields results and the bible's is the stuff of zeros and then bumped up staying right there on that wall confined by a hidden package is recovered inside a white powder suspected to be cocaine these musta to stay in there with potential narcotics we found it into that ball places a Bible [Music] the drugs are just the beginning homemade alcohol and tattoo equipment are also found in the raid so much the pressure forcing inmates to come clean hey I'll probably take out my gun sure yes sir the guilty inmates placed under prison arrest we think we're good right now [Music] shakedowns send a swift and clear message rule breakers will be punished and the guilty may face whole time and even more charges but contraband keeps flowing and mates keep breaking the rules and the system keeps fighting back [Music] [Applause] the time that passes at the Ross Correctional Institution is marked by routine lights up at 6:00 a.m. locked down 10:45 first count rec yard work out keep moving time for chow keep moving two more counts and lights out this routine changes though for those who break the rules dinner Widow me nathaniel blocker is in the hole after assaulting an inmate another strike on his growing record [Music] in here I'm forced to be around people that I don't want to be sometimes that it tells me stabbing somebody here you know beating someone with a pipe or something like a dummy I'm not a big guy you know I mean so it entails that I'm gonna always seem to have some problems with these clowns here so I got to make an example Oh killer ass whoever gets down look Phil let's put a test where I'd rather be out there eating grasshoppers out in the woods right then living here so it's uh it's another world in here I guess you could say blacker has two days until his trial for the fight and the punishment could be severe the self-proclaimed lone wolf is accused of weapons possession something that could get him additional time in the hole I mean you're either going to defend yourself in here man or you're not you know when someone steps up to the battlefield man I mean I have no choice but to take it to the next level [Music] while violent inmates like blacker are an obvious challenge to the system some rule breakers present problems of an entirely different sort so this is the correct venue there is no motion to dismiss anymore nationwide there were over 16,000 lawsuits filed by inmates last year many are appealing their conviction for complaining about conditions inside 90% of these lawsuits are prepared by inmates inmates like Ronald dudas jailhouse lawyer has been around since they opened the first institution somebody has to help somebody we just filed a bunch of motions couple weeks believe or anything on those although he isn't a real lawyer dudas access counselor to the convicted public defender to the incarcerated motion for relief from judgment pursuant to civil rule 60 B everybody in here is innocent everybody in here has a story but as you talk to people they're not all turning that they're innocent but what the Turner's flaws [Music] my backgrounds in finance my crime is considered a white-collar crime 54 year old Ronald dudas came into the system on a 17 month sentence for theft telecommunications fraud and forgery all part of a mortgage scam due to stolen excess of a million dollars from low-income homeowners and then confiscated their property they said that I have a social path that was motivated by money that if it's not my way it's no way and I ran a company that was strictly set up for predatory lending practices dudas may have started out as a white-collar criminal but after his arrest he turned a corner moved toward violence prosecutors say Ronald dudas asked a cellmate at the Cuyahoga County Jail to arrange the hits Dudus orchestrated a plan to murder the presiding judge in his case and talked about it on the jail's tapped phone line [Music] dudas was hit with a 135 count indictment and a 30 year sentence Sonny can never be now inside dudas has a vast list of clients he helps gang members fight their cases and prepares legal briefs for groups in the system like the Christian separates his church he's good at the law I mean he knows what he's talking about you know he's I'm real I'm mostly in the Bible but he's more of a he's the legal beagle nationally the church has been labeled as a hate group its leaders here are serving long sentences for violent crimes they are like all of dudas clients a reminder of his new reality meanwhile this guy's gonna sit here and rot in prison I used to walk into a bar when I was younger and I used to look around and go okay I'm the toughest guy in here I've nothing to worry about when I came to prison and I looked around I said I have a lot of issues I did things in my life that I think now I'm paying for I think the things that I did get away with it came around while dudas maybe learning to navigate a new world his choices have been breaking the rules again we have this Ronald dudas his way of jailhouse lawyer Inge is an illegal hustle behind bars right - so for you to help you out there you just put it near here writing and in prison it's only a matter of time before the rule breakers get punished [Music] flipside side if you step outside for my wake up another shakedown at Ross part of the daily routine officers here are expected to do at least one random search each shift all we're just kind of doing a cleaning up of the block drugs weapons hooch all part of the ongoing effort to root out contraband last year we found a lot of knives down there there was a real big year for knives so shakedowns become way more common at this institution hey Watkins come here got a needle in there and I'm gonna get stuck with I found your ink so no drugs or weapons were found in today's hunt no matter how diligent you are watching in the block or how many officers you have there's always something gonna be going on a lot fathers nothing about you cannot be everywhere at all time there's only so many of us and 2600 of them things go on behind the doors and that's where you know the real things the real issues the real fights the real drama we'll never see the Ross Correctional Institution in southern Ohio sits on 1,700 acres for inmates locked inside the compound the peaceful farmland they see outside the gates is a bitter reminder of their sentence I think the loss of freedom more than anything else is the thing that you miss the most I don't miss the money I don't miss the new cars the main service the I don't miss any of that I'll miss the big houses the vacations I miss doing what I want to do now Ronald dudas will be doing even less a routine search of his room turned up a stash of contraband all demander investigation for legal work that police say they found in myself apparently you're not allowed to have somebody else's paid board on your persons are in your saw in your possession it's a hard and fast rule of the institution and made property whether it's food clothing or letters is private background for breaking the rules dudas is headed to the hole then to prison court to faces charges and in the next few days the jailhouse lawyer will stand in his own defense [Music] you want tell me the rules so I know what was that what you be quiet [Music] in inmate health services security control officers are still keeping watch over Justin Davis he was caught swallowing balloons filled with marijuana and visitation so for the past 36 hours he's been on defecation watch passing over evidence to the prison they recovered for off of him the next day they got two and then a couple hours later they got one another lieutenant the other day got 10 off of him I think so far a total of 21 balloons he's been recovered hey Davis put all your stuff in here your bed linen also leave the cups today the vigil comes to an end a little under half an ounce of pot recovered it's time for Davis to head to the hole isolation [Music] he's all yours he's going down on 12 [Music] I don't know how long you'll be here that's between you and Baker the investigator how much time you got left probably expect more [Music] Davis took the risk broke the rules and will sit in isolation for months he faces further restrictions if he goes to max the kind of hard time that awaits Justin Davis is having an impact on Buster Johnson he's entering his sixth week in segregation for assaulting an officer one of the most serious crimes in prison Johnson has been locked down 23 hours a day [Music] is like men and he'll he said most guys buy a door trying to get in that door smell a hair didn't win that cracks and his father crack cause they ain't got no wonder so you let me know man today Johnson is getting some era but not a break he's headed to a security classification review [Applause] hey Don Johnson the hearing that could result in being sent to a tougher prison to maximum security on your security view the fighting is a rule infraction board you score two points because within the last year you were found guilty you do have three points based on the fact that the warden approved your placement in elsi that's three points against you instance you have demonstrated a physically assaulted and or predatory behavior resulting in physical harm to any person and the nature of your behavior presents a threat to the overall security and orderly operation of the institution as the behavior category following Johnson's fate is all but sealed he'll ride out to a max prison where as actions will determine whether or not he'll return to a place like Ross [Music] the system has reeled in the rule breakers and now it is dealing with them all that remains are the trials the verdicts and the punishments and the segregation unit at Ross Correctional Institution Ronald dudas is biding his time awaiting his trial on charges of possession possession of another inmates legal papers if it even locked in the hole Judas is continuing his legal work and found a new client nathaniel blocker you're basically saying that the Court of Common Pleas lacks complete subject-matter jurisdiction over you the individual no no over me he would be over you the human being the lone wolf has landed with the jailhouse lawyer and blacker is sharing his strategy for defending himself in today's prison trial a defense that goes well beyond the charges for fighting with what he is arguing is basically in layman's terms on that a sovereign state I didn't sign the Declaration of Independence I can't be held liable for crimes that were given to a guy with a social security number because I never authorized all those numbers they were given to me by an entity from the state so the statutory was something that was created here voted I'm it was just somebody drew this up probably the most extreme extremist I've ever met in prison I believe he believes that he's gonna win and he's a hundred percent correct at everything he's doing at Ross after inmates are reeled in for breaking the rules they're issued a rule violation ticket rule 39 drug possession not guilty rule 19 fighting in my barber you appear before the rules infraction birthday charged with a rule 19 fighting you play guilty to that charge there are all charges in the prison penal code charge is brought into a courtroom of sorts it's called the rules infraction board our IP and the presiding officer is lieutenant Ginetta turner the Riv is similar to a criminal court inmates get to present evidence call witnesses give testimony can you give me your full name and number for the record place donald silver support two five three of Anthony Connelly five six six home today dead with brandy five seven nine three one six if they can't follow the rules inside the prison they're not gonna do but follow the rules when they get out of prison and bucking the system could mean more time the majority of the time what I really want from the inmates is the truth the truth is the truth and I just don't like lies nathaniel blocker is making his ninth trip to the rules infraction board the prison court he's irregular and faces time in the hole for assaulting another inmate cooperation though could make the hearing go more smoothly m8 blacker can give me your full name and number for the record plays I mean I've never been issued one but right from the start blocker makes his stance clear what's your name my name is the thing you've called the black offender do you wish to enter a plea on the rule 36 possession of a weapon if the court has no jurisdiction jur I am I got it it's okay I don't follow orders at least not tak well I was involved in an altercation and the argument was over or the district disagreement was over he had something in the cell that I didn't believe he should have had in the cell what did he have in the cell I'm not at liberty to say okay all right you're gonna stand in front of that wall facing the wall i'ma call sergeant Spencer and you're not allowed to speak directly to him any questions you have for him you relate to me I will relay them to him if I feel that they are appropriate questions okay inmate black our inmate Horace we're upstairs in the top range fighting we ran up to the top range and so at that time I passed searching and found in his right front pocket a medal shake based on what you saw of this item that came out of his pocket do you consider it to be a weapon like serious be a deadly weapon okay thank you they're trying to say I had a knife right if I'd have had a knife believe me I ought to kill that dude standing would you like to make a statement well I mean I don't understand what he's talking about he removed from my a knife from my pocket I mean I don't we live by different codes walls and what people our society do I guess if I could attacked or something what am I supposed to do yeah Mike blacker is everything else you want to add there was nothing that was done to investigate this this guy remove this thing from my pocket or whatever he says that it's a deadly weapon however he's not confident to testify to that okay all right he's not is is he a forensic pathologist or something okay all right so what your claim is that he did not take this out of your pocket well I mean he he may have taken something out of my pocket but it wasn't a weapon all right so what was it I have no idea and how do you know he took something out your pocket the thing that he took out of my pocket was the thing that I snagged from the damn cell a that I had right yeah well it's nothing it was nothing that you could harm anyone with I just didn't want him to have it in the cell okay so you're saying that you took it away that's what we're fighting about well why don't you just tell me that instead making me go through this whole little circle why don't you just tell me that that was the simplest thing to do instead of making this a circus Blacker's defense falls apart and a verdict is easy guilty [Music] is another 15 days in the hole another mark on the record of an inmate that continues to buck the system I don't like their system I don't believe that it's fair I don't believe it it's just idea in the world I strive for greatness you know I mean who is it a robert e lee said something about you know sometimes you have to act contrary to what you know the common mold is [Music] in the segregation unit at Ross Correctional Institution judgment day has come for Ronald dudas he's up on charges of possession not of drugs or a weapon he had another inmates Case Files in his lockbox and the jailhouse lawyer is preparing his defense I just got to trying to find a way to convince the people at the IV board that this wasn't done with intent there's the thing that they give you here it's a manual it's called an inmate handbook in this inmate handbook it has basically what you can can't do the book is the penal code for the prison rules of conduct institutional policies procedures for grievances all spelled out and something every inmate should know especially a self-proclaimed advocate like dudas well I fight to the limit on everything absolutely because I don't believe I did anything wrong I believe everything I did was by their handbook and I have their handbook here they'll take in with me to prove it it may do to see up here before the rules infraction birthday charged with rule 21 disobedience of a direct order a rule 48 stealing or embezzlement of property of a rule 50 possession of the property of another a rule 49 51 16 54 55 this is your opportunity just to explain what happened just tell me what happened the easiest thing that the same in is if I may be so bold I go to a law library I think everybody in the institution knows I'm always up there and I do help inmates they do you have authorization to do so yes ma'am this period does allow me up there check you have written authorization from the warden no man okay ah I need to have that yes yes it's the most basic oversight a lethal blow to his defense I would say the first 30 seconds I thought it was definitely be they ready to go to town once she said you failed to do this anything that I would argue past that point would be ludicrous on my part because there was no way I was going to win I need you to research to find out what the proper procedures for assisting other inmates with their legal work this will never happen we're not permitted to have or possess any other Emma's legal work unless it relates to your case you can't do that okay because you are not a lawyer and you are not prevent permitted to practice the wall while you're incarcerated in our institution Dudus versus Ross Correctional Institution is an open-and-shut case the panel in fact found you guilty all the charges the panel believes that you did have the sentence ten days in the hole I didn't read it [Music] via thorne the side of the system is pleasurable to me I'm probably going to do other Riv bits in the hall for doing legal work because I will not stop helping people it's my way to get back to the system it's my way of saying you know what screw you you guys did this to me I don't belong in here so I'm gonna help everybody I can to get home Prison is all about rules rules that govern daily life rules that keep the peace rules that are regularly broken by inmates pushing the limits of the system [Music] certain people was addicted to buying a user drugs and certain people was addicted to the money that's coming from the drugs you felt I'm saying and me that's one of my addictions I'm addicted to being the one to supply to dream Justin Davis now has a six month sentence for possession and drug smuggling six months until he's back in general population once again rehabilitation don't come from being like that it comes from yourself either you won't want to change or you ain't gonna want to change you feel me right but to sit here and be beating myself up feeling guilty and if I wouldn't got caught I would have been here oh you found me for attacking an officer Buster Johnson faces formal assault charges that could lead to more time time he won't be spending at Ross Johnson is a security risk here and the rules require the administration transfer him to a maximum facility known as Lucasville I know back to Lucas be really I miss a real joint ain't no get ain't no kitty can no more behind bars every crime has a reason and it turns out a tougher prison is just what the old-school inmate wanted I'm going to a real camera Sven and uh me dorrance arm [Music] back at home he said not to Faso jumps [Music] the way that I do my time is this I don't mess with people right so I don't expect to be messed with if someone steps up to the plate I'm swinging that for a homerun right whiteout I'm trying to kill Nathaniel blockers history of violence is catching up with him today he's headed to court to face criminal charges for stabbing another inmate three years ago charges that could add years onto his sentence scared honestly I'm scared to be back in this society and here everything's given to you you know food clothing everything there it's got a fend for yourself man and I don't know how to do that there's no kind of programs out there to help me ain't nothing gonna have to go out there try to do this on my own that really scared [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: criminals and crime fighters

Views: 5,534,350

Keywords: Hard Time, Hard Time Series, Hard Time Full Series, Hard Time Full Episode, Hard Time Season 2, Hard Time Season three, Hard Time Documentary, Hard Time Prison Documentary, Hard Time Crime Documentary, Hard Time The Outsiders, Hard Time Jackson, Hard Time 90s Babies, Hard Time Coastal State Prison, Hard Time first timers, hard Time Georgia, Hard Time Coastal, Hard Time Inmates, Hard Time Prison Series, Hard Time Behind Bars, Hard Time Extra Long Episode, Hard Time usa

Id: NFipLBA-zhw

Length: 197min 4sec (11824 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 11 2020