Teenagers don't follow around minor offenders at a jail or detention facility, they are forced to walk in straight, tight line (sometimes hand in hand) and follow these inmates who are locked up in state prison for life sentences, one man even had a 999 year sentence for beating his two first wives and killing his third. Most of these children walk in to the prison cocky, with offenses ranging from truancy to drug possession and petty theft. During the second episode I watched, a 17 year old, Devonte, had been in trouble with the law for drug related offenses and in the initial interview video he said (emotionless) that he would kill someone. My jaw dropped. I watch Gangland, I have taken several criminology courses and I'm pre-law for criminal justice. I understand how the system works and what type of offenders are behind bars but to actually watch a 17 year old KID say that he would kill someone as if he was talking about the weather was crazy. Needless to say, once he arrived at the prison the inmates tore him apart with no mercy for his cocky attitude. I learned California has a 3-strike law that states if you have three felonies on your record (regardless of how old you were when you committed them) that third strike will send you to prison for the rest of your life. One inmate said his third strike was for robbing a gas station attendant, no weapon, no harm done, but forty dollars stolen and he is now in jail for 50 years before he is eligible for parole. Not to mention South Carolina's "One hand, all hands" law. If you are present when a crime is committed, you too will go to prison. An inmate at South Carolina state prison said he got his female rap partner a natural life sentence when he killed two people. His partner didn't do anything and had no idea of his intentions when he went in to kill two innocent people. If a story like that doesn't stop you from hanging around with the wrong crowd, I don't know what will.
The prisons were loud, filthy and outright terrifying. I've seen inside some prisons from photos in books or sideshows in class but this was an unedited look in to what prison life is like. The floors were covered in water leaking from the ceilings, showers had mold and filth surrounding them, toilets were out in the open in the yard and South Carolina's prison had what resembled human dog kennels as their "yards" for its prisoners one hour a day fresh air/exercise time. Oh, and if you thought McCormick dorm rooms were tiny, just try and imagine what a cell in prison is like...about one quarter of the size. Not to mention Death Row in San Quentin, CA; inmates barely had a window large enough to show their faces through and large steel doors that looked like something from the medieval ages kept them behind bars awaiting the day they would die. The teenagers and inmates were not allowed to enter Condemned Row for safety reasons. A&E follows up with the teens one month after their visit and most of them do try to change their ways. Of course, it has only been a month but all the inmates and organizers of this program desired was to keep at least one of these kids out of prison. These teenagers came in thinking they knew everything and were as tough as nails. Once the day was over and prisoners' stories were told them at a no-hold barred. Needless to say these kids were beyond scared straight.
I stumbled on this show after watching Grey's last week and found the it really interesting. It gave an inmates look at what prison really is. There was one episode that had a set of twin brothers on it who were inseparable. The thing that got me about them was that one wanted to join a gang. The inmates told him that if he loved his brother then he wouldn't go down that path because a rival gang could mistake his brother for him. Which in turn could end up getting his brother killed.
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