Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Documentary 20141102

Segments of americas prison population. Since 1995, the total number of male prisoners in america has grown 29 . The number of female prisoners, nearly 50 . So what does it mean to society and to our Justice System . We first visited valley state womens prison in california back in 2000, one of the largest allfemale prisons in the world. We returned five years later to see if reforms made any difference to a system troubled by overcrowding and the inmates caught in a seemingly hopeless circle of abuse, drug addiction and violence. Everybody tries to make a family here. This is their family while theyre here. But then there is another aspect of the population that can be very violent, very cutthroat. Why you over here . And theyre making a game out of it. And the more violent it is, the more fun it is for them. Get your camera off of me. Theyre not people. I dont feel im a good person because of the things ive done. And im scared. Im scared. I am very scared. 250 miles north of los angeles in chowchilla, california, is valley state prison for women. It was built in 1995 and sits on more than 640 acres. While valley states dormitory layout and spacious green yards might remind some of a college campus, razor wires, guard towers and the electrified fence leave no doubt this is prison. And the 3,600 women who live here are criminals. When i first came to prison, i was 19 years old. And im here for Second Degree murder. And i have 15 to life. Well try and fight. Sharon phoenix is now 41 years old. Everything was, like, silent. You had to be very careful in the way you walked and the way you talked and your attitude. You know, i was dealing with women who didnt care. I seen a woman get beaten. Ive seen women o. D. More than 80 of the women at valley state are in for drugrelated offenses. I used to use heroin, started at 16 using it. Im addicted to crack cocaine. Heroin. Ive been using since i was 12 years old. Substance abuse is an underlying factor of most of the crimes that are committed by the women here because in order to support their drug habits, you end up committing burglaries, petty theft, various crimes that will result in a felony conviction. And as a result they end up in prison. What you mean you need some more food . Starving like what . Like im eight months pregnant. Youre what . Eight months pregnant. Let me see. Oh, you are, arent you . Gloria henry is the warden at valley state. Shes run this prison since 2002 and has been working with women in corrections for more than 20 years. I have always felt like i have a responsibility to try and return them to the Community Better than they were when they came in. Because you have a lot of these women who come in here, from the time they were little girls, they had nobody to teach them how to be a good citizen, how to be a productive adult. They have no life skills. They didnt learn them. What they did growing up was survived. So when they come in here, theres a lot of things that we need to be able to teach them how to do in order to go back into our communities. This is the reception area at valley state where the new inmates are processed. Do you have any old cdc numbers . No. Okay. I havent ever been. Im scared. Its scary. Im ashamed of what i did too. Right now im numb. I dont feel anything. Because i just got here. So, i mean, i dont really feel anything yet. I dont know how its going to be. I dont know what im going to face because ive never been here. Some of them i see come in, theyre disgusted because theyre back here again and we see them, you know, every three or four months or time and time again. This is my fifth time. Your fifth time . Yes. My first commitment was petty theft with a prior. This is my fourth violation. I never said i wasnt going to come back because im a criminal. Thats what i do. After the initial photographs, fingerprints and paperwork, the prisons medical staff examines each new inmate to assess her needs. Thats the only thing youre under treatment for right now. The new inmates must spend their first several weeks in an area separate from the general population before being integrated into a permanent housing unit. While segregated, the new inmates are psychologically tested to determine in which housing area they will be placed for their remaining sentence. Some of the women inmates we see here who are psychotic, have lost touch with reality, may have very bizarre and unusual behaviors, hear voices and those types of things. And we would need to treat them usually with medication and some supportive therapy. We also see people who have major depressive disorders, very sad, maybe suicidal. And these women may need medication therapy and also psychotherapy as well. Once the correctional staff screens each inmate for medical and psychological needs as well as security risks, shes assigned to her housing unit. The women live eight to a room. When you live with seven other different personalities and somebodys day has gone wrong, theyre bound and determined to turn it around on you. You better be quiet. Youre going to get it. Friendships are lost. Just one bad day in close quarters. Inmates not only have to get used to their new environment, but also the prison routine. A typical day at valley state starts early, at 6 30 breakfast is cooked and served by the inmates under staff supervision. The majority of inmates spend their day in a variety of valley states educational, vocational or rehabilitation programs where they can earn a High School Diploma, learn a trade or cope with anger, addiction and abuse. When i first came to prison, i started fighting at anything. Anything you said to me would make me, you know, react. If i felt threatened. Most of the time id end up in cuffs. I had several police tell me youre going to be here until the prison falls down. And through going to groups and therapy, i finally learned that that wasnt the way to do it. I need to learn how to use talking skills instead of my hands. And with more help and more good functions, i have the chance to go home. Life here is about order and routine. By 10 00 p. M. Its lights out. But there are some places at valley state that never go to sleep. Coming up [ yelling ] this is how it is 24 7. You have to be prepared for anything. Doing time at valley states prison within a prison. And later when i was a little girl, i could never imagine myself being here now, today, or even coming to a place like this. We checked back with someone who was just out of her teens when we first met her five years earlier and could spend her life behind bars. Loving vegetables. Well vegetables. Shh taste better in our savory broth. Vegetables . No. Soup oh soup loaded with vegetables. Packed with taste. Can you start tomorrow . Tomorrow were booked solid. We close on the house tomorrow. Tomorrow we go live. Its a day full of promise. And often, that day arrives by train. Big day today . Even bigger one tomorrow. Csx. How tomorrow moves. I thought so what . , but now cai cant stop playing. Rst thats not how it works. I mean its so simple. Its like my Car Insurance. I saved 15 in fifteen minutes. Well esurance could have saved you money in half that time. Three in a row sweet 15 minutes for a quote isnt so sweet. Level 2 start with a quote from esurance and you could save money on Car Insurance in half the time. Welcome to the modern world. Esurance, backed by allstate. Click or call. For most people, earning cash back ends here, at the purchase. But theres a new card in town. Introducing the citi® double cash card. It lets you earn cash back when you buy and again as you pay. Thats cash back twice. Its cash back with a side of cash back. The citi double cash card. The only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1 when you buy and 1 as you pay. With two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards seem onesided. Faster than dcon. What will we do with all of these dead mice . Tomcat presents dead mouse theatre. Hey, ulfrik hey, agnar whats up with you . Funny you ask. Im actually here to pillage your town. [ villagers screaming ] but we went to summer camp together. Summer camp is over. [ male announcer ] tomcat. [ cat meows ] [ male announcer ] engineered to kill. Because i didnt like the way you allowed them to punk you. An act of violence or drug use inside the prison will bring an inmate here to the administrative segregation unit or ad seg. It is valley states prison within a prison. While ad seg houses those on temporary lockdown, the other side of the building known as the security housing unit or shu is for serious offenders who are considered a more permanent problem. I was set up. I was set up. Thats what i was. Inmates were afraid of me and they put a shank under my mattress. They think im a threat to the institution. Inmates in the shu are kept in their cells almost 23 hours a day. They are allowed out for only three showers a week and ten hours in the recreation yard. Life in ad seg or shu isnt just a more intense experience for the inmate. Correctional officers like Diane Vasquez are under the pressure of dealing with a different brand of criminal. Working here in ad seg shu is very challenging. You deal with a lot of physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse. It just depends on how much you let it affect you. You hear yelling. You hear cursing. You hear banging, kicking on the doors. This is how it is 24 7. At nighttime they dont sleep. Anytime youre dealing with any of the inmates in here, you have to be ready to react to anything. You always just got to be prepared, know your options when youre dealing with different situations. You always have to think two steps ahead to prepare for whatever can happen. An arsenal of nonlethal weapons like tear gas and rubber bullets provides stopping power in case of an incident. Bullets provide stopping power in case of an incident. To provide added security for the officers, meals are delivered through slots in cell doors. Random cell searches are an effective way for officers to find weapons and other contraband before they can be used against staff and other inmates. Im checking some of the unclear containers for contraband because we cant see through this. We can take our light. If theres anything in here besides whats supposed to be in here, well be able to see it. Theres an unknown liquid in this. This is a shampoo bottle. There should be shampoo in there. Theres not shampoo in there. We use mirrors where we need to see, we dont want to get stabbed or poked. Although the officers search for all sorts of contraband, they are first and foremost on the lookout for weapons. It could be as simple as this right here. This is cellophane wrapped around a pen filler. Its pretty stiff. It could be used as a stabbing weapon. Its better that we take it. When it comes to crafting homemade weapons, an inmates determination can be deadly. Right here is what we call a fashion block, what it is its a cutoff pillow case, its made into a handle. The inmate braids it to where they can hold it real tight. What they do is they attack another inmate. Another common weapon for inmates to use would be a toothbrush. Melt the plastic down and they put a razor in there which acts as a slashing device. Screws have been melted inside of a lighter. And you hold it. Keeps the inmate safe. Keeps the officers safe. If we can stop it here, everybody is going to get to go home safe. Not all prisoners are in ad seg for disciplinary reasons. Cynthia menendez and Linda Donohue are here to protect them from their enemies. Were here because our life has been put on the line. You know, and we have families we want to get home to, too. I was put back here because my life was threatened because my son testified and took somebody away from their family. And they were going to take me from mine. Ive been back here a little over a month. Its just getting harder and harder. I felt like my whole world was crumbling. When i walked back here, i could just see horror. When youre taken out of your cell, youre handcuffed. Its just its very depressing. Its very humiliating. Linda donohue was assaulted at a nearby prison and was shipped to valley state for her protection. Now her attacker will be arriving at the prison. So linda has been moved to ad seg for her own security. Yeah, she stabbed me. Blood all over the room. I finally was able to get up, she had me pinned, i was able to get up and bang on the door for the officers. Im scared of dying. Ive seen people beat worse than what i got beat. For both women, the isolation of ad seg has provided a chance to reflect on their time behind bars. It was a reality check for me. It was really a reality check. And maybe this is what it took for me to have to realize it. This is not where i want to be. Youre told not to be weak in prison. Dont be weak in prison. Thats a downfall. I dont know how to be strong. I just had that one habit and i just couldnt break away from it, you know . It was like taking away the loneliness. Violence and drugs still take their toll inside valley state. Darlene acevedo is serving time for petty theft. But as a drug user, she was sent to the ad seg for feeding her addiction on the inside. Which led to an attack on another inmate. Shes been in ad seg for 21 months. This is the first time ive been sober in my whole life since i started using drugs since i was 18. So thats what i meant by reality check. This has made me the me, the real person, that i really am. Darlenes facilities are basic, with a few luxuries like lotions, spices and a television, she spends her time reading with only pictures of her family to keep her company. They give me hope. When i look at my pictures, i know that i have a purpose. Today darlene will go before a committee to determine if she is fit to leave ad seg. She was originally placed in asu on 12 12 04 for battery on an inmate. Regarding the assessment of the shu term, icc found no factors in aggravation. Its further recommended that we release her to facility d. The meeting brings good news for darlene. She will return to the general population. Everything is going to be fine. Im going to make it. When we return this place makes you hard. Five years later, we catch up with three killers who could spend their lives at valley state. How much money do you have in your pocket right now . I have 40, 21. Could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement . I dont think so. Well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. Ring ring . Progresso its ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. Its our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. Apology accepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself [ highpitched ] nailed it [ normal voice ] youre right, that was really easy. I know, i told you so. On progressive. Com, you can compare our progressive direct rates with our competitors rates, so shopping is easy. You dont sound like flo. [highpitched] yeah, i do. [ clears throat ] who you talking to . [ normal voice ] what . Whats on your hand . Noth my wedding ring. [chuckles] symbol of our love and understanding. Comparing rates for you. Now thats progressive. [ highpitched ] nailed it new business owner, it would be one thing ive learned is my philosophy is real simple American Express open forum is an online community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make Smart Business decisions. If you mess up, fess up. Be your partners best partner. We built it for our members, but its open for everyone. Theres not one way to do something. No details too small. American express open forum. This is what membership is. This is what membership does. When i was a little girl, no, i could never imagine myself being here now today or even coming to a place like this. When i was 16, i was in Juvenile Hall fighting my case, still didnt think about coming to prison. To be so young convicted of Second Degree murder, facing 15 to life in prison, it was the scariest thing ive ever had to go through. I didnt know what i was coming to, or what it was going to be like. I heard many stories of prison. I was scared, i was terrified. When we first met janice jaycott, she had just turned 21, she was sent to valley state to serve 15 to life for seconddegree murder. I set up a drug deal. The drug deal turned into a robbery. The robbery turned into a murder. The girl turned state evidence and the guy was on the run and he ended up dying about a year and a half later. This place makes you hard. It can make you bitter. I dont think it rehabilitates you. 90 of the women go out harder than what they come in. Janice was pregnant when she was arrested. Her son was born six months prior to her being sent to valley state. I dont know what its like to be a mother to him. To me im just the woman who gave birth to him. Im not his mom. My stepmom and my father have raised him. Janice is now 26, older, wiser, and looking toward the future. Four years ago, i was a wreck. I was real rebellious, i didnt care about nobody. I dont even think i gave a damn about myself. To where now, four years later, im more mature. I care what happens to me. Janice also cares about the child she left behind. She hopes to be paroled within five years and, at last, be a mother to her son before its too late. I think as he gets older and he comes to understand and realize where im at and im not at home taking care of him, i think hes going to be real rebellious about it and hes not going to want to listen to nobody. Im terrified hes going to make the same mistakes as i did. At valley state prison, there are 385 women serving life sentences. Actually four years ago, i couldnt see ever leaving here. I couldnt see leaving here. Now as my board date approaches, i see that there might possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel. Only in the last year have i felt like maybe this isnt what god has planned for me, to stay here for the rest of my life. Marta yulin is also a lifer at valley state. She was convicted in 1998 for vehicular manslaughter. She drove drunk and killed four people. I wanted to die, myself. It didnt only affect the four people in that car, but myself and my two children dont have their mother right now. The effects ripple on down, and affect so many people that its unbelievable. The pain will never go away. Marta is serving 15 to life. When we spoke to her in 2000, she was convinced that prison was the end of the line but longs to reunite with the family she left behind. I have a very supportive daughter who is 20 who is putting herself through school, and i have a 23yearold son in iraq right now who should be coming home soon. Hes having the hardest time dealing with me being here. And we basically had no communication since ive been in prison. But im faithful that gods going to turn that around. I know that gods always there. He wraps his arms around me and comforts me and tells me hes going to see me through this and that hes forgiven me, because i cant forgive myself sometimes. Ive become a very angry person rather than, say, somebody who is looking at things and finding things better. Theres nothing rehabilitating here. Its a drudgery really. When we last saw barbara erdman, she was 65 years old and one year into her tenyear sentence for murder. My husband had left me after 30 years, and i was having a very tough time with it. And all of a sudden i decided i was going to be me again. And i went over to his house. He had moved out, and i went over to his house where he lived, and i wanted to tell him to keep whatever pension and stuff he had and just sign the house over to me. And he got very irate and starting beating me up. But when i backed up, his gun was on the counter he carried it once in a while and i picked it up and tried to scare him. He backed off, but then he came at me. And i pulled the trigger, i guess. I really dont remember it clearly. It went off and he died. Barbara had more difficulty adjusting to her time in prison than the others. Barbara will soon be 71. No. This is not life, i tell you that. Youre definitely being punished. Thats for sure. Its a nightmare. I still have not gotten over the shock of being here. And everything is so different. People are so different. Theyre not people. And i think i was still in shock at that time. I didnt really realize what was going on, and what it would be like to be in here. And its horrible. It really is. I dont laugh as freely. I dont live really, is basically what it is. I try very hard to keep my spirits up, but theres sometimes that you just cant. If it wasnt if it wasnt for my family, my granddaughter who ive got pictures of, i wouldnt make it. I dont know what would happen. As these women get closer to freedom, they remain mindful of the fine line between getting out and actually moving on. When i get out of prison, ill be the kind of person that carries a good job, be the best mother i can be. Thats my number one priority, is to be a mother to my child. I cannot bring those children back, i cannot bring the gentleman and his girlfriend back, and i cant wipe the tears of the Family Members or my own Family Members. But i can keep trying to move forward and do the best that i can do for others. Ill try to replace it that way. Thats the only way i know how. Thats what i need to do, is just focus on the fact that in two years i will be out, and maybe theres something i can do on the outside. I want to see the outside. I want to see some beauty. Try to forget about this place. Coming up babies behind bars. And the women who have to give them up. New york state is jumpstarting business with startupny. An Unprecedented Program that partners businesses with universities across the state. For better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. 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Introducing synchrony financial, bringing new meaning to the word partnership. Banking. Loyalty. Analytics. Synchrony financial. Engage with us. Im frances rivera, heres whats happening. The injured test pilot who survived a crash of the prototype spaceship is talking to his doctors. Major injuries to the crash killed his copilot. Lava flowing from an erupting volcano has stalled just short of a small town on hawaiis big island but officials warn homes in the area are still in potential danger of being damaged or destroyed. More news later. Now back to lockup. Medical care for all Prison Inmates is notoriously inadequate. At valley state prison for women, health care is indeed one of the facilitys biggest challenges. For prisoners, its also been a hotbutton issue for years. Each day just after breakfast, the inmates on medication line up for their daily doses. All drugs are regulated. Psychotropic, prenatal, even cold medicine. The inmates have long considered health care to be one of valley states biggest problems. Despite being fully operational on our first visit in 2000, the facilities were understaffed and overburdened. There were less than ten physicians to care for more than 3,500 inmates. The medical care here sucks. Medical sucks. Medical sucks. We need better medical. Ive been here eight years and never had a physical. They wont give me a physical. They said because im young and im healthy, i dont need a physical. Because of standards that are set by the community, there has been a significant increase in funding for the Health Care Services for women and we have been able to add to our staff both in terms of physicians, nursing, Mental Health staff. Is it still no. Do we have enough staff . No. Do we have vacancy issues and problems were working with . Yes. But we are significantly better off in terms of our ability to deliver Quality Standard of care today than we were a year ago or five years ago. Most of the difficulties stem from the inherent differences between male and female populations. Above all, pregnancy. Pregnancies in a prison provide a very unique problem for us because many of the women that are pregnant are in very poor health. Theyre ill when they are pregnant. They come here and theyre depressed. They have a number of issues going on in their lives. Approximately 175 babies are born each year to inmates at valley state, building b1 houses the expecting mothers. Im having twins. I dont know. I think im having a boy and a girl. I hope, thats what i want. I have a 2yearold and a 1yearold at home. So when an inmate is ready to deliver at valley state, shes brought to nearby Madera Community hospital. Correctional officers are posted outside the delivery room. But that isnt the only thing that separates these moms from the others in the hospital. When the babies are delivered, the mothers dont get to bring them home. A Family Member must pick up the newborn within 48 hours. Otherwise, the baby is placed in foster care. This is my son, manuel. He was the first born. He weighed one pound and nine ounces. When inmate Amelia Gutierrez was sent to valley state on a parole violation on an assault charge, she was seven months pregnant with triplets. I had a really rough experience being here. Highrisk pregnancy. This is no place to be. Amelias delivery was dangerously premature. She had to be airlifted to a hospital capable of providing adequate care to her new family. But soon after delivering the triplets, amelia was given traumatizing news. Im very grateful, because from the triplets, two of my children are still living. And my son, unfortunately, passed away. Which was really hard. Because, you know, i couldnt be there for him like i should have been. The hardest thing was to lose my son, and, you know, just being away from my children, period. Its, like, really tearing me up inside, because, you know, i never wanted to be i feel like im the worst mother. This is not my home here. Im not calling this my home. My home is with my children. An unfortunate fact of life at valley state is 85 of these women are mothers. They display their photos on cell walls or lockers. This is hunter and sierra. These are my girls. I love them so much. One of the more sobering differences between men and womens prisons is that many of the inmates who end up here never see their loved ones again. In the womens case theyre frequently abandoned. There are not men in their lives that cared about them enough to stay with them during this difficult time. They come here and their families dont take the time to bother and come and see them. There are not as many men out there that want to communicate with and write to and send love stories and love letters to women that are locked up. Its saturday. Usually a prisons busiest time for visits. Yet inmate Anza Heathcock and her family have the room to themselves. Without them being here, i dont think i could make it through this. You know . Looking forward to their visits, looking forward to their letters. It brightens my day, it really does. Anzas fiance and three boys are visiting her. Missed her a lot. Just happy that we can go see her today. Supposed to get married when she gets out. All the time shes been gone, its like we never get to talk to her or anything else. All we get to do is to write her. When she gets out, she can probably come to our football games. You know i will, be there at every one videotaping it. You know i will. Just cant wait for me to get out of here and start living our lives like we should. I know thats my goal. Im very blessed to have somebody take care of my kids. I know where my kids are. A lot of women in here dont even know where their kids are. They dont have family or the family kind of shut them off. You know, since theyre in here. Im fortunate enough that ive got someone who loves me and who will come 200 miles, however many miles, come see me. Well see you next week. You better be here every week. Anza heathcock was released from valley state prison in november, 2000. Her sons are teenagers living at home with her. Anza is still in a relationship with her fiance. Although advocacy groups sponsor bus trips to bring families to see their mothers, such trips are rare. Barely 1 of inmates have a visitor on any given day, meaning anza was among a precious, lucky few. It makes life in here livable. You know, gives me something to look forward to. When we return the power to heal while some look to god for love in prison, others look to each other. They challenge us. They take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. For respawn, building the best Interactive Entertainment begins with the cloud. This is titanfall, the first multiplayer game built and run on microsoft azure. Empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought possible. This cloud turns data into excitement. This is the microsoft cloud. Faster than dcon. What will we do with all of these dead mice . Tomcat presents dead mouse theatre. Hey, ulfrik hey, agnar whats up with you . Funny you ask. Im actually here to pillage your town. [ villagers screaming ] but we went to summer camp together. Summer camp is over. [ male announcer ] tomcat. [ cat meows ] [ male announcer ] engineered to kill. Good morning, sisters. Good morning. Bless you. Bless you. Good morning, sisters. One of the basic philosophies of the penal system is repentance. So its no surprise that at valley state prison for women, so many inmates turn to religion. We come to worship you. We come to praise your name. Anyone that comes to god usually comes because of what motivates them is pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. I can feel the lord in here which is something very, very its drowning me. I feel so much peace with myself. I know he forgives me for being a rotten person. I know he forgives my sins and i know i can do anything. There are several religious options for the inmates, from this native american ceremony led by a cherokee healer. Connect to your center. We send our blessings out to our families that we miss very much. Only god is in that place. To this Catholic Service where inmates are anointed with holy oil. You will be healed of all diseases. So many of our inmates have never been touched. The touching part is a real key for them, the very fact of the anointing and the blessing. The very fact that i can touch them on their forehead and on their hands, i get this sense of relief for them, that somebody really cares about them enough not to touch them in a violating way or an abusive way. Because so many inmates have been physically and mentally abused, they come into valley state unaccustomed to nurturing relationships. One of the things that happens in the prison system for women is that women will sometimes build themselves a family. So a woman will become a father. A woman will become an uncle, a brother. And they will be pulled together into a family structure. They decide, this is an older lady, i look up to them, so this is like my mother figure. They start calling them mom. This is, you know, a lesbian female, this is my dad, you know, whatever, whatever. Lorraina diaz is serving six years for manslaughter and an assault on an officer. Something that they dont get at home, something theyve never had. And in here, an the relationships are much more close because youre so enclosed and you got to see you see these people every single day, no matter what you do, you know . So you build these bonds with people. Many of these inmates become so close that their relationships go beyond mere support. Women have a much stronger need for touch and to be close to each other and to talk and to have close relationships. Married in prison . Yeah, im married in prison. To who. To a woman. You got married . Ive been with the same woman five years. Many of our women prisoners who would not be gay or lesbians in the free world are, in fact, drawn to each other here in a supportive, familylike concept and that ultimately may lead, actually into sex you, lesbian sexual relationships. When i first came to prison, about a year after i was in prison, i started being with women. Probably for affection. Now i dont be with women because it wasnt who i was. I was being lonely. I didnt know how to keep myself occupied. So i was with women. Its about being close to somebody, having somebody give you love. Its not even some of the lesbian relationships in here, you know, a lot of females come in here and they have husbands, they have five children at home or whatever. But they come here, and they receive love from somebody. You know what im saying . They find somebody who they care about and cares about them. Coming up inmates look to their future. Its going to be a whole new world. You know . Both inside and outside the prison walls. Were going this way. Hi. [ male announcer ] if you had a dollar for every dollar Car Insurance Companies Say theyll save you by switching, youd have, like, a ton of dollars. But how are they saving you those dollars . A lot of Companies Might answer um or no comment. Then theres esurance. Born online, raised by technology and majors in efficiency. So whatever they save, you save. 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You can easily buy and Schedule Services from toprated providers. Conveniently stay up to date on progress. And effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our snapfix app. Visit angieslist. Com today. Were going this way. Hi. How you doing . Im doing fine. And you . Im doing fine. Good. Shes the one. I would love to have the women leave this prison better off than they were when they came in. That is my goal. That is our mission. When msnbc visited valley state in 2000, the recidivism rate was 55 . Despite officials hopes that it would decrease, that number has held steady. If the trend continues, more than half these women will come back. Im 24 years old. Ive done six months here already. Ive come to terms with changing my life and my lifestyle and the friends and the people i hang around with in order not to come back to this place. This place is really not a bad place. They have a lot to offer you here if you take advantage of the situation. Theyve got schools. They even have College Courses here that you can take and things like that. You can get yourself into something positive. You know what i mean . We can provide all the education and academic programs in the world. But the individuals who come through our gates have to be ready to accept those programs, has to be ready to say i need to change who i am and how i live. To help give inmates a marketable skill upon release, valley state has 15 vocational programs from welding to landscaping to cosmetology. Inmate marlene stollsmark used to be a drug dealer. Outside world, i ran a lot from the law, sold drugs to get by. You know, it was easy money instead of, i didnt really know too much of doing anything except running the streets and this is when they came here, they asked me, well, what are you interested in . I said nails, hair. And they put me in this program. It was good. A lot of us thats here really dont know nothing except what weve learned to bring ourselves here. If we had known a trade or something, we might have did that instead of doing what we did to get here. At the end of her tenyear sentence, marline hopes to open a nail shop of her own. Im hoping it will give me a normal life where i dont have to look over my shoulder and wonder am i coming back. I dont think anybody really thinks about coming to prison and having to stay here. But its the choices in life that we make that bring us here. Hopefully i dont make that same mistake and come back. I came in, in my very early 20s. Im pushing into my 40s now. My sentence was 15 to life. Inmate christy camp was convicted of seconddegree murder. She works in the print shop. She dropped out of school in the seventh grade, but earned her High School Diploma here at valley state before working on a vocation. Any type of learning a trade is going to give you a sense of accomplishment, boost up your selfesteem, give you job skills you can incorporate when you leave. Christy has been denied parole multiple times, but she hopes her new skill will make a difference if she leaves valley state. When i think about paroling, its going to be a whole new world. You know . Ive been in almost 20 years. Im looking forward to residing in a community, being a communityoriented citizen, a homeowner, living the American Dream just like everybody else. So thats what i plan on doing. Because a large part of the population at valley state is here for drugrelated offenses, the Substance Abuse Program Remains many inmates only hope. Good afternoon, family. My name is vonita. Hi, vonita. First of all, i want you ladies to put your legs down and i want you ladies to relax. Vonita lee used to be a drug addict herself. Today as a counselor, she has a unique appreciation for the struggles the inmates face. It hurts me. It hurts because i feel irresponsible. I feel hardness. I feel unworthy. But, you know, im working on that right now, you know what i mean . How has it made you feel when you see other kids your other peers with pictures and theyre showing pictures and youre not showing any pictures of your kids . It feels its like an emptiness, you know. These women are part of walden house, valley states Residential Community for Substance Abusers. Todays topic is the effect the inmates addiction has had on their families. Me and my kids dont have that relationship or that bond that a mother and child are supposed to have. So right now, if you could tell your kids anything, what would you tell them . I would apologize for not being the parent that i was supposed to be. I would tell them i love them very much. I would tell them not to make the same mistakes i did. I would like to give all you ladies a big stroke because you guys did some processing. I want to stroke the ladies that was here for support. Its important that we let these ladies know that the work that theyre doing is very important because some of these ladies have held this stuff in for like 20, 25 years, and its so hard for them to be productive out there in society because they have all this garbage inside and theyve finally come to a place where they can release it and be safe about doing it. I lost my mother while i was locked up. Im not real close with my family right now because the trust was lost. Some of these ladies havent cried in many years. When we see the tears, we know its cleansing them and its helping them become that productive member of society. And its very important that we hug them. That way they know that theyre doing the right thing and its okay to cry. Good job, good job. Single file. Okay. What i want, i want you to give me your whole name. Are you guys ready for your last patdown . These women are being paroled, and yet despite their hopeful smiles, odds are the majority will be back. What a parolee will leave with is their personal property that they have, and generally 200. Unless they have worked somehow and saved money or have had family or friends that have sent money for their trust account to give them something for a start. But generally its 200. For many, the prospect of leaving valley state on parole doesnt bring hope, but fear. For inmates like lorania diaz, a life in prison is all they know. Im scared to get out, you know. Im scared because i dont know what im going to do, and i know how different i am now. And its just, its a weird experience. I dont feel like im a good person because the things ive done. They want you to be that good girl. Theyll let you loose and let you become part of society again. Part of me doesnt ever want to be part of society again. I think some of them actually like it here, and they get their families, you know, they create their families here, their friends. Its like a reunion. Its nothing new to them, and its their comfort zone. Its traumatizing, just to look 19 years down the road, ill be eligible for parole, ill be too old. I wont be able to collect ssi. Any vocation i take now wont be any good by the time im old enough to parole from here. Technology changes every day. I have no idea what half the cars look like out there, let alone a computer. So its going to be scary. Due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. Msnbc takes you behind the walls of americas most notorious prisons, into a world of chaos and danger. Now the scenes youve never seen. Lockup raw. Built in 1852 and home to californias death row, San Quentin State Prison is bursting at the seams due to overcrowding. When we shot our extended stay series there. But san quentin had one Program Designed to discourage troubled teens. From ever joining its ranks in the future. Through the re