Page 20 - Prison Yard News Today

Treason and sabotage by the apartheid government, acts punishable by death. but they got life imprisonment instead, banished to robin island, one of the countrys most brutal and isolated prisons. another political prisoner remembers the first time he saw mandela in the prison yard. >> i could see from the way he walked and from his conduct that here was a man already stamping his authority on prison regime. >> reporter: mandela was released 27 years later. >> i have spoken about freedom in my li...

>> this is not your typical jailhouse confession. what happened in 1985, the fbi mounted a huge undercover sting operation against marcelo. they approached this individual in prison, jack van lamming ham, who was not a criminal except for one night he robbed a bank. he was friendly with marcelo because he didnt know who he was. the fbi arranged for jack van lamming ham to become marcelos cell mate. marcelo -- and this was a long almost two-year operation. and they got a court order for a bug tra...

>> a feared inmate is released to the yard. people go to a matpetrpeespes store and essentially they just get sold something. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. before you invest in a mattress discover the only bed clinically proven to relieve back pain and improve sleep quality. when we actually lower the sleep number setting to get the sleep number bed to conform to them its amazing the transition that you see with people. oh, that feels really good. its hugging my bo...

Get anything out of it. im not that 16-year-old kid anymore. im 41 years old now. >> as he walked across the yard, first time in years with other inmates, we had no idea what to expect. >> we missed you. >> one time. one time only. >> go ahead. >> hey, im not good at this. ill tell you right now. are you good? >> not really. >> not really? >> hit a ringer. >> ill try. >> i think it astounded him to be out on the yard and working out with somebody else, being in contact with another inmate that h...

Supremacist gang. >> is that yost? have you seen him on the yard? watch for him. watch out for that dude. watch his movement. >> we found information, we received a kite saying that if yost gets three feet next to this guy, hes going to hit him. hes going to hit him. >> whats my role here? im an [ bleep ]. in their mind, im a [ bleep ]. im constantly agitating them. and they are constantly agitating me. and i wont quit. >> ultimately yost may not have a choice. >> times ticking. im sick from hep...

But lockup crews have found that on some yards even at dangerous maximum security institutions, inmates have found something to fill their hearts with love and nurturing. just not for each other. >> nobodys family home cat could be happier than these cats in here. >> one of the first things i noticed walking in the yard in kentucky was something i never thought i would see in a million years on a prison yard. thats all of the cats. they were all over the place. >> nobody really berz exactly when...

Short of killing someone. the family bonds lead to murder. >> later. >> one of the first things i noticed something i never thought i would see in a million years in a prison yard. thats all the cats. >> when inmates adopt. >> especially when theyre little babies you can raise them up, pet them. feed them. you watch them grow. thats your cat.

The social center of almost every prison is the yard. its the rare space where inmates socialize, exercise and occasionally fight to the death. but lockup crews have found that on some yards even at dangerous maximum security institutions, inmates have found something to fill their hearts with love and nurturing. just not for each other. >> nobodys family home cat could be happier than these cats in here. >> one of the first things i noticed walking in the yard in kentucky was something i never ...

I mean for real. and then they get -- >> you wasnt gay before you came in here, though, was you? >> nope. >> other women at north carolina build committed, monogamous relationships, but those relationships still clash with prison policy. >> we have situations where inmates begin to value one another more than they do following the directives of the authorities here. they are a security issue. >> the first time "lockup" cameras rolled tape on north carolina inmate jennifer porter, she was trying ...

And i was a little shocked, turned my head and saw peacocks. on the yard. the prison yard itself. the further we got actually onto the prizren grounds, everywhere you looked there were birds. >> then you look a little closer and you see flowers. beautiful flowers in bloom. and gardening. inmates planting other plants. laundry hanging out. and it is almost soothing when you walk through there. >> chickens, peacocks, all these birds that you would never think would be living here. how are they her...