to life. you're like, "what the [bleep] did i do here? this is -- this is disgusting." and then, you know, you go through some tribulations, and i found something that i was really passionate about. >> john lennon discovered his passion in a creative-writing course to write about the deplorable stories of poverty, literacy, and mental illness that he saw all around him in inmates. >> i was getting the story, and i was grabbing these characters and just bringing them to life. u you're immersed in whatever character is, you know, of the moment, and it's all about that. it's all about the story. >> when i arrived at this notorious prison to meet lennon, i was reminded of the mind hunters who have sought answers from murderers since "the silence of the lambs" turned a young fbi agent going head-to-head with a serial killer into a household name. >> good evening, clarice. pity about poor catherine, though. tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.