Inside Angola News Today

That only dealt with federal prisoners. theres a conversation going on right now, how far do you go? its one thing to reduce the prison population of non-violent offenders. how much risk do you take on violent offenders. in some cases they committed crimes as teenagers, theyre now in their 40s and 50s and 60s. how do we factor in the families of their victims? its stirring a national conversation. >> youve done so much work on this whole issue. your interviews of the central park five. what did ...

To the largest maximum security prison in the country as a prisoner would be at least the first timers, do you think they have any idea what life theyre about to go into >> no, they find out its totally different once they get behind angola its totally different. >> angola, or the louisiana state penitentiary, is a former slave plantation i spent three days here on the inside, my access was virtually unrestricted, and at times i was not in the immediate sight of officers very few of the roughly ...

It wrong >> youre saying if we take hope out of the equation, thats where we get in trouble. >> if you take hope out of the equation, theres going to be a lot of trouble >> theres a lot more from inside angola on a special one-hour "dateline" friday at 10:00/9:00 central and on sunday i moderate a town hall from inside a maximum security prison at 10:00/9:00 central on msnbc theres more here tonight including the college admissions bombshells, e-mails revealing how us officials kept track of b...

We put the scaffold right here and it went down from this sign. you see the rope still there. the inmates would climb down and we line them up in this row, about 6,000. probably the largest mass movement obviously of inmates in the country. we put the boats in the water right down here under this overpass and run them all the way around here. meanwhile, the folks on top -- at first, they threw stuff at us. thats one of the things they threw off that bridge at us. remember that? thats a spear. >>...

Circuit system, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. there are religious shows, educational programming, and the most popular of all, sports. >> theres a show called "ringside." a boxing team will fight the boxing team there. >> sports keep peoples minds off the tedium of time, and few sports are more popular than boxing. for those who make the team, its a paid job. albeit the salary range is only four to 20 cents an hour. >> well, you know, doing what you love. im a boxer. thats what i love. this...

80 dollars for winning the bull riding. cowboy of the year awarded to the highest scoring inmate gets a championship buckle. >> the worst inmates you can have in any area of the country, but yet they rehabilitate and can mingle with the people. we can have culture change within our prisons. >> some criticize the events brutality. others say the prisoners dont deserve the excitement of the rodeo. >> these inmates who participate can be king for a day. thats something they never really get in pris...

Terrible aspect that you have to be away from the people that you love, your family, your children. my daughter wasnt born when i got locked up and now im a grandfather. >> some deceased are picked up by family members and buried as free men. for most, theres point lookout. >> definitely bad to die if youre in prison, but ultimately we all have to die. they have a nice service and theyre buried with dignity and respect in angola. coming up, the battle to keep the prison clean requires a shaked...

Right mind would object to trying to have morality in a prison. unless hes an idiot. coming up on "lockup angola" -- >> how long you been here? >> 24 years. >> time in angola runs out for two men. >> i will maintain my mental stability. >> one walks. the other stays. forever. [ female announcer ] you get sick, you cant breathe through your nose... suddenly youre a mouthbreather. well, put on a breathe right strip and instantly open your nose

Outside, standing on our head in one spot. >> its your move. >> the two of those guys, i think they probably will be out of camp jay soon. both of them have done well while theyve been here. its all about attitude. we cant help somebody if they dont want to help themselves. but im more than willing to help any of them who are willing to make that effort on their own behalf. coming up, two ways out of angola. one is hard earned freedom lurking just beyond the front gate. the other path is death...

Work is not. >> ive been editing for about a month now. productions for about nine months. perhaps the most unusual innovation atten go la is the tv station. the only big house production company in the united states. >> you have to kind of step back and kind of ask, what would they ask? >> choose your consequence. >> i chose angola by the lifestyle that i was living. im not going to just lay down and live over. i want my life to mean something. it can, even though im in prison. >> every member ...