Life in Solitary

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains some violent scenes, strong language

0:00:05 > 0:00:07and scenes which some viewers might find disturbing.

0:00:07 > 0:00:12In America, 80,000 prisoners are locked up in solitary confinement.

0:00:16 > 0:00:19They spend months, sometimes years, alone.

0:00:21 > 0:00:24This place is like an insane asylum.

0:00:24 > 0:00:27Thoughts of suicide come a lot.

0:00:27 > 0:00:31This film goes inside the punishment wing of a maximum security prison.

0:00:31 > 0:00:36You can't get yourself wound up, cos you can't leave that room.

0:00:36 > 0:00:38It's home to violent criminals

0:00:38 > 0:00:41and to young prisoners on the brink of madness.

0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's like being buried alive.

0:00:44 > 0:00:45But this prison has a new boss

0:00:45 > 0:00:50who thinks solitary confinement is making inmates more dangerous.

0:00:50 > 0:00:53Most people would say if you punish 'em, you make 'em better.

0:00:53 > 0:00:56The reality is the exact opposite happens.

0:00:56 > 0:00:57I will kill one of your inmates.

0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is the story of one man's effort

0:01:00 > 0:01:02to reform a supermax prison...

0:01:02 > 0:01:05'You can have them do their whole time in segregation.'

0:01:05 > 0:01:07But I don't want them living next to me when you release them.

0:01:07 > 0:01:13..and to rehabilitate some of America's most dangerous criminals.

0:01:13 > 0:01:15I'll try to be normal again.

0:01:34 > 0:01:37In the state of Maine, on America's north-east coast,

0:01:37 > 0:01:39is a maximum security prison.

0:01:41 > 0:01:44It's home to the worst prisoners in the state.

0:01:48 > 0:01:51It's a dangerous place.

0:01:51 > 0:01:54Four inmates have been murdered here in the last five years,

0:01:54 > 0:01:56and assaults on prison staff are frequent.

0:01:59 > 0:02:03The segregation unit is the prison within the prison.

0:02:08 > 0:02:11Inmates here spend 23 hours a day in their cells.

0:02:13 > 0:02:16They get an hour of exercise in a cage.

0:02:23 > 0:02:24Some are here long term

0:02:24 > 0:02:28because they're judged too dangerous to be around other people.

0:02:31 > 0:02:33Some are here for their own protection.

0:02:33 > 0:02:37And some are here as punishment for disruptive behaviour.

0:02:40 > 0:02:44I'm Adam Brulotte, 102817.

0:02:44 > 0:02:48I've been in prison since November 28th of 2012.

0:02:48 > 0:02:52I broke a kid's jaw in seven places with one punch.

0:02:52 > 0:02:54That landed me an aggravated assault.

0:02:55 > 0:02:58That one punch landed me in here.

0:03:00 > 0:03:03Adam Brulotte is 21.

0:03:03 > 0:03:06His crimes on the outside are low-level.

0:03:06 > 0:03:10He's doing 18 months for assault after a fight at a party.

0:03:10 > 0:03:14But in prison, he's a disruptive and volatile inmate.

0:03:14 > 0:03:16He's just tried to attack an officer,

0:03:16 > 0:03:21so he's been sent to segregation, or "seg", as the inmates call it.

0:03:21 > 0:03:22'I just went overboard,

0:03:22 > 0:03:25'freaked out, starting punching stuff, threw chairs, screaming,

0:03:25 > 0:03:27'and I got Maced and tackled.'

0:03:27 > 0:03:30And they're trying to say I started a riot.

0:03:30 > 0:03:32'I've been down here two days now.'

0:03:32 > 0:03:35Well, it's good to my standards!

0:03:35 > 0:03:38And I'm always at this window, so I like the window to be clean.

0:03:38 > 0:03:40My face touches it and my hands touch it.

0:03:41 > 0:03:43'I like seg.

0:03:43 > 0:03:47'I can handle being locked down 23 hours a day,

0:03:47 > 0:03:51'cos I can read, I can write, I can do push-ups. Most time I just chill.'

0:03:51 > 0:03:52You got to relax.

0:03:52 > 0:03:55You can't get yourself wound up, cos you can't leave that room.

0:03:57 > 0:03:59Yeah, it sucks.

0:03:59 > 0:04:01But I think I'm doing good.

0:04:03 > 0:04:06Brulotte faces three months in solitary.

0:04:06 > 0:04:09It promises to be a gruelling experience.

0:04:09 > 0:04:11HOWLING

0:04:18 > 0:04:19LAUGHTER

0:04:21 > 0:04:24BANGING, SCREECHING

0:04:36 > 0:04:38It's Friday night on the solitary unit.

0:04:43 > 0:04:46Some of these inmates have been locked up in here for months,

0:04:46 > 0:04:48even years.

0:04:57 > 0:04:59Almost every night, they mount a protest.

0:05:05 > 0:05:07They've flooded their cells

0:05:07 > 0:05:09and poured bodily fluids under the doors.

0:05:12 > 0:05:15Some have managed to smuggle in razor blades.

0:05:16 > 0:05:19Now one inmate has covered his window so the officers can't see in.

0:05:19 > 0:05:21Kidd?

0:05:24 > 0:05:25Kidd, you need to cuff up.

0:05:25 > 0:05:29The officers think the inmate may have been self-harming,

0:05:29 > 0:05:31cutting himself.

0:05:31 > 0:05:34I have three windows covered. One of them appears to be self-abusive.

0:05:34 > 0:05:37'I attempted to look through the tray slot

0:05:37 > 0:05:38'to see if I could get a visual on him,

0:05:38 > 0:05:40'and he's got it covered with a mattress.'

0:05:40 > 0:05:43If I can't see him from the back window, we have to go in

0:05:43 > 0:05:46and take him out for his own safety.

0:05:46 > 0:05:49Inmates are forbidden from covering their windows in the solitary unit.

0:05:51 > 0:05:52They could be bleeding to death,

0:05:52 > 0:05:56or it could be a trick to lure the officers in and assault them.

0:05:58 > 0:06:00He's got it all covered.

0:06:00 > 0:06:02So now we have to pull him out.

0:06:04 > 0:06:06Right, gents, we better get ready to rock'n'roll.

0:06:06 > 0:06:09611 A2, do you have a large fox?

0:06:12 > 0:06:17The officers often have to forcibly extract inmates from their cells.

0:06:17 > 0:06:18Any questions at this time?

0:06:18 > 0:06:21We're ready to go and do a cell extraction.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23BANGING

0:06:31 > 0:06:33SCREAMING

0:06:36 > 0:06:40All cell extractions are filmed, in case prisoners later try to sue.

0:06:44 > 0:06:45Monsters!

0:06:45 > 0:06:48This is what they create in here, monsters.

0:06:48 > 0:06:52And then they drop you into society

0:06:52 > 0:06:54and tell you, "Go ahead, be a good boy".

0:06:59 > 0:07:02You can't conduct yourself like a human being

0:07:02 > 0:07:04when they treat you like an animal.

0:07:12 > 0:07:14Nights like this are routine in the solitary unit.

0:07:17 > 0:07:19Officers regularly use pepper spray

0:07:19 > 0:07:22to extract self-harming inmates from their cells.

0:07:26 > 0:07:29This place is like an insane asylum.

0:07:29 > 0:07:32I don't know how many times I've seen this tier filled with blood

0:07:32 > 0:07:35from these guys cutting their arms and their necks,

0:07:35 > 0:07:37all types of crazy...craziness,

0:07:37 > 0:07:39and that's because they're stuck in here with nothing to do.

0:07:41 > 0:07:44Gordon Perry is doing life without parole

0:07:44 > 0:07:46for murdering a police officer.

0:07:46 > 0:07:50He's in solitary for stabbing another inmate with a screwdriver.

0:07:50 > 0:07:52He's been here for more than a year,

0:07:52 > 0:07:54longer than any other prisoner in the unit.

0:07:56 > 0:08:00If you don't have a strong mind, this place can break you quick.

0:08:00 > 0:08:03A lot of guys, they don't have reasons why, they just snap out.

0:08:03 > 0:08:05That's what this place does to you, it makes you mean,

0:08:05 > 0:08:08makes you violent, and it fucks a lot of people's heads up.

0:08:10 > 0:08:13'This is solitary confinement.'

0:08:19 > 0:08:24I've seen a number of inmates become extremely self-abusive

0:08:24 > 0:08:26during their time in segregation.

0:08:26 > 0:08:28They have no control of anything else,

0:08:28 > 0:08:31so they'll cut, they'll smear faeces,

0:08:31 > 0:08:34they'll attempt to hang themselves.

0:08:34 > 0:08:37For the normal person who doesn't work in a facility like this,

0:08:37 > 0:08:38they're going to be thinking

0:08:38 > 0:08:41if you punish 'em, you're going to make 'em better.

0:08:41 > 0:08:44And the reality is the exact opposite happens.

0:08:48 > 0:08:50Maine is one of a few American states

0:08:50 > 0:08:54trying to reform its prisons by cutting down the use of solitary.

0:08:57 > 0:09:01The prison has a new warden who has a radical plan.

0:09:03 > 0:09:05I want you out on the other side of that door,

0:09:05 > 0:09:08cos that's good for you, to be on this side of the door

0:09:08 > 0:09:10and not that side, and you can hold me accountable.

0:09:10 > 0:09:12LOUD BANGING

0:09:14 > 0:09:15It's really dangerous, OK?

0:09:15 > 0:09:19If I have somebody that comes in with a five-year commitment,

0:09:19 > 0:09:22you could have them do their whole time in segregation.

0:09:22 > 0:09:25But I don't want them living next to me when you release them.

0:09:27 > 0:09:30The warden can't just let everyone out.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33The inmates in solitary are unpredictable and dangerous.

0:09:34 > 0:09:37What's going to happen when they release you in five months?

0:09:37 > 0:09:39- You going to come right back? - Hopefully not, no.

0:09:39 > 0:09:41Well, if you act like that, you're going to.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45Instead, he wants to reform them

0:09:45 > 0:09:47and return them to the main part of the prison,

0:09:47 > 0:09:49known as "general population".

0:09:52 > 0:09:55I think we need to make every attempt

0:09:55 > 0:09:58at moving them out of those cells

0:09:58 > 0:10:00and moving them into general population.

0:10:01 > 0:10:04On the surface, it might look crazy,

0:10:04 > 0:10:06but the reality is that 80% of these inmates

0:10:06 > 0:10:09are going to be hitting the street. OK?

0:10:09 > 0:10:10So we can either make them worse

0:10:10 > 0:10:13and create more victims when they go on the street

0:10:13 > 0:10:15or we can rehabilitate them.

0:10:18 > 0:10:23I have a young man down there right now. He's leaving in January.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26Do we want him to leave from segregation

0:10:26 > 0:10:29to go into the community? That's crazy. That's crazy.

0:10:32 > 0:10:36Steven Kirkley is doing a two-year sentence for robbery

0:10:36 > 0:10:39and will be released to the street in just six months.

0:10:43 > 0:10:46He's one of the most disruptive inmates in the prison.

0:10:46 > 0:10:49When he's around other prisoners in the general population wing,

0:10:49 > 0:10:51he gets into fights.

0:10:52 > 0:10:55When he's in solitary, he cuts himself with razor blades.

0:10:58 > 0:11:03I got about ten, eleven more of those...

0:11:04 > 0:11:05..placed throughout my cell.

0:11:07 > 0:11:09I brought them down for everybody,

0:11:09 > 0:11:12but I might use one tomorrow for my birthday.

0:11:13 > 0:11:14Tie my arm off and just...

0:11:17 > 0:11:19..cut the vein.

0:11:20 > 0:11:22I don't do it to hurt myself but...

0:11:24 > 0:11:26..I do it and...

0:11:28 > 0:11:29..basically...

0:11:31 > 0:11:35..just to let them know I'm capable of doing it.

0:11:39 > 0:11:43The officers know that Kirkley is a "cutter",

0:11:43 > 0:11:46so they do regular shakedowns on his cell.

0:11:48 > 0:11:51This time they don't find his razors.

0:11:52 > 0:11:56But Kirkley mounts a protest about the invasion of his space.

0:11:56 > 0:11:59Can you uncover your window and talk to me?

0:11:59 > 0:12:01If you don't uncover, chemical agents are going to be applied.

0:12:07 > 0:12:09What are you planning to do?

0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Get extracted.- Why?

0:12:12 > 0:12:16Cos...I woke up this morning and I went to medical...

0:12:16 > 0:12:20and I came back and everything in my room was messed up.

0:12:21 > 0:12:26Plus today is my birthday, and this is a way of celebrating.

0:12:32 > 0:12:37For Kirkley, life in solitary has become a game.

0:12:37 > 0:12:41He provokes the officers into extracting him almost every day.

0:12:41 > 0:12:43GAS HISSES

0:12:49 > 0:12:52Let us know when you want to cuff up through the window.

0:13:05 > 0:13:06Inmates told me

0:13:06 > 0:13:10as soon as I left my cell they was in there fucking my shit up.

0:13:10 > 0:13:12As soon as I left.

0:13:12 > 0:13:16Like I said, if I feel disrespected, I'm going to do what I got to do.

0:13:16 > 0:13:19The new warden tries to deal with disruptive inmates like Kirkley

0:13:19 > 0:13:21in person.

0:13:21 > 0:13:24So, what have we got to do to move you ahead?

0:13:25 > 0:13:27- I don't know.- How old are you?

0:13:27 > 0:13:2921.

0:13:29 > 0:13:33So what do you think you need to do to go back into general population?

0:13:33 > 0:13:34I'm not even going to try.

0:13:34 > 0:13:37It doesn't matter if I get released from here or out there,

0:13:37 > 0:13:40I'm still getting released from prison.

0:13:40 > 0:13:43- You're going to stay in your cell? - If that's what it's going to take

0:13:43 > 0:13:47for my shit not to get ripped apart, I'm not going nowhere.

0:13:47 > 0:13:48I'm not going to no programmes.

0:13:48 > 0:13:53I'm not doing no programmes. I won't go to rec. It doesn't matter to me.

0:13:55 > 0:13:57OK, that's a choice that you're going to make.

0:13:58 > 0:14:00We done?

0:14:00 > 0:14:03'With Kirkley, he's a challenge.

0:14:03 > 0:14:06'The onus is on us to find the right approach

0:14:06 > 0:14:09'to figure out how we're going to change him.'

0:14:09 > 0:14:11Somehow we're missing something.

0:14:11 > 0:14:14We're missing the way to get to that young man.

0:14:15 > 0:14:19'And if we don't get to that young man and do what we need to do,

0:14:19 > 0:14:21'we're going to make him worse

0:14:21 > 0:14:23'before he goes back into the community.'

0:14:29 > 0:14:30Next door to Kirkley

0:14:30 > 0:14:34is an inmate who's been in and out of solitary confinement

0:14:34 > 0:14:36for more than 20 years, Peter Gibbs.

0:14:36 > 0:14:41How long have I been standing here asking to speak with the warden?

0:14:41 > 0:14:44I'll talk to him, OK? I'll talk to him, all right, Peter?

0:14:44 > 0:14:46You need to stay calm and I'll talk to him.

0:14:46 > 0:14:49See how easy it is to get upset? See that?

0:14:49 > 0:14:51'I've strangled a correctional officer'

0:14:51 > 0:14:53and hid him under my bed,

0:14:53 > 0:14:57and then another one came in the pod and I knocked him out

0:14:57 > 0:14:58and dragged him into a utility closet

0:14:58 > 0:15:02and beat his head in with a mop wringer, and I got...

0:15:02 > 0:15:05So I've been in prison a long time.

0:15:05 > 0:15:07That was when I was 16.

0:15:07 > 0:15:11The officers survived Gibbs' attack but he's still regarded

0:15:11 > 0:15:14as one of the most dangerous inmates in the solitary unit.

0:15:14 > 0:15:16He's currently serving a 20-year sentence

0:15:16 > 0:15:18for a string of armed robberies.

0:15:20 > 0:15:23Now he's demanding a transfer to another prison

0:15:23 > 0:15:25to be closer to his family,

0:15:25 > 0:15:28and he's threatened to murder the warden if he doesn't get it.

0:15:29 > 0:15:32We've met before. I explained my situation.

0:15:32 > 0:15:34I will assault, attack, stab,

0:15:34 > 0:15:37do whatever I have to do to get out of your facility.

0:15:37 > 0:15:40I will kill one of your inmates. I don't have nothing to lose.

0:15:40 > 0:15:43I want out of here. My children can't come see me.

0:15:43 > 0:15:48I'm not rich. We're not rich, so they don't have the money to come here.

0:15:48 > 0:15:49You know?

0:15:49 > 0:15:51So, Mr Gibbs,

0:15:51 > 0:15:54what do we need to do to get out of this hole that we're in?

0:15:54 > 0:16:00- OK?- I need to be medicated. - OK.- That makes me sociable.

0:16:00 > 0:16:01OK, I'm going to follow that up.

0:16:01 > 0:16:03You can't keep on threatening to kill me.

0:16:03 > 0:16:04If you threaten to kill me,

0:16:04 > 0:16:06I probably won't let you out of this room,

0:16:06 > 0:16:09and if you threaten to kill anybody...

0:16:09 > 0:16:12One thing about you, Mr Gibbs, that I know

0:16:12 > 0:16:14is you're good for your word. All right?

0:16:14 > 0:16:17I thought it would get me back to New Hampshire.

0:16:17 > 0:16:19If you tell them, "We don't want Mr Gibbs here,"

0:16:19 > 0:16:21- they have to take me back. - They don't have to take you back.

0:16:21 > 0:16:24Then I'll homicide one of your inmates!

0:16:24 > 0:16:27What they'll do - let me finish - is they will make arrangements

0:16:27 > 0:16:30for you to go from here to another state.

0:16:30 > 0:16:31New Jersey, Maryland.

0:16:31 > 0:16:33New Jersey's refused me,

0:16:33 > 0:16:36Rhode Island's refused me cos of my mental health issues.

0:16:36 > 0:16:39Well, it seems to me that you'd like to see your wife and daughters.

0:16:39 > 0:16:44And it seems to me you'd like to get back out in general population.

0:16:44 > 0:16:48As long as somewhere down the road we can convince New Hampshire

0:16:48 > 0:16:51Mr Gibbs is doing unreal, he's changed and maybe take me back.

0:16:51 > 0:16:55- Look, what- I- can control is what I'm going to talk about.

0:16:55 > 0:16:57I can't control New Hampshire.

0:16:57 > 0:17:02What I can control is how do I move Mr Gibbs out of the seg unit,

0:17:02 > 0:17:05how can I get Mr Gibbs an opportunity to make money

0:17:05 > 0:17:08to send his wife so she can come visit him,

0:17:08 > 0:17:10how can we work together

0:17:10 > 0:17:14so that Mr Gibbs can move out of the seg unit so he can get his TV, OK?

0:17:14 > 0:17:17You start with baby steps, right?

0:17:17 > 0:17:19Well, what are you looking at for a time period?

0:17:19 > 0:17:22Can you start giving me some stuff in my cell maybe?

0:17:22 > 0:17:25That crochet programme was very important to me.

0:17:25 > 0:17:27I'm not ready to put a crochet hook in your hand right now.

0:17:27 > 0:17:28You know what I'm saying?

0:17:28 > 0:17:30Nice chatting with you.

0:17:31 > 0:17:35The senior prison staff are concerned about the idea

0:17:35 > 0:17:37of ever moving Gibbs out of solitary.

0:17:37 > 0:17:41He's a long way, from my perspective,

0:17:41 > 0:17:43cos I have to be in a pod.

0:17:43 > 0:17:45Any one of us can be in general population with this guy.

0:17:45 > 0:17:47So I don't want to see someone die, an officer die,

0:17:47 > 0:17:51because we're trying to kinda get him settled

0:17:51 > 0:17:54- as we wait for New Hampshire. - It's just going to be a process.

0:18:05 > 0:18:08The US has a higher percentage of its population in prison

0:18:08 > 0:18:10than any country in the world,

0:18:10 > 0:18:13almost five times that of England and Wales.

0:18:16 > 0:18:21Solitary confinement was first introduced here in the 1800s

0:18:21 > 0:18:24as an experiment to see if isolation would reform criminals.

0:18:26 > 0:18:29It was soon abandoned, because prisoners didn't reform.

0:18:29 > 0:18:31They lost their minds.

0:18:34 > 0:18:39You get to go home and I got to stay in fucking here!

0:18:39 > 0:18:42But the practice was re-introduced in the 1980s

0:18:42 > 0:18:45in an effort to reduce widespread prison violence.

0:18:47 > 0:18:51Now America has 80,000 inmates in isolation,

0:18:51 > 0:18:52more than any other country.

0:18:55 > 0:18:58Research suggests that prisoners in solitary

0:18:58 > 0:19:03are six times more likely to kill themselves than other inmates

0:19:03 > 0:19:06and seven times more likely to self-harm.

0:19:21 > 0:19:2221-year-old Adam Brulotte

0:19:22 > 0:19:26has been in solitary confinement for four weeks now.

0:19:26 > 0:19:28He was confident he could handle it,

0:19:28 > 0:19:30but he's started to fixate

0:19:30 > 0:19:33about what will happen when he leaves prison.

0:19:33 > 0:19:37Yeah, I got hardcore ADD, and I'm about to leave in five months.

0:19:37 > 0:19:41I don't know where I'm going to go, I don't know where I'm going to work.

0:19:41 > 0:19:43I don't know how I'm going to get a car.

0:19:43 > 0:19:46I still got 1,000 to pay with no car, no job.

0:19:46 > 0:19:50When you settle down in your room and you really just start thinking,

0:19:50 > 0:19:53it's just "bang-bang-bang-bang" all at once.

0:19:53 > 0:19:55This really kind of fucks with my head.

0:19:57 > 0:20:00I'm just trying to get some medication to slow that down for now.

0:20:14 > 0:20:18Brulotte has now begun to cause trouble in the unit.

0:20:18 > 0:20:19Why are you pissed off?

0:20:19 > 0:20:23Cos they're fucking with people's portions!

0:20:23 > 0:20:25Ohhh! LAUGHTER

0:20:25 > 0:20:28- Scumbag! - That's a million-dollar shot!

0:20:28 > 0:20:30Oh, it's war.

0:20:30 > 0:20:32LOUD BANGING

0:20:33 > 0:20:36That night, the unrest escalates.

0:20:36 > 0:20:37What is all this stuff on the floor?

0:20:37 > 0:20:41It's probably urine and toilet paper and food.

0:20:47 > 0:20:50Brulotte is planning to flood the unit.

0:20:50 > 0:20:52In about half an hour, I'm going to let that loose

0:20:52 > 0:20:54and it'll be in the hallway.

0:20:59 > 0:21:03- What's going on?- Nothing.- Nothing?

0:21:04 > 0:21:07Oh, shit! There it goes!

0:21:07 > 0:21:10Yeah!

0:21:17 > 0:21:21The punishment for flooding out will be more time in solitary.

0:21:32 > 0:21:36Inmates in solitary are deprived of all physical contact.

0:21:39 > 0:21:41But they've found ways of reaching one another

0:21:41 > 0:21:43when the officers aren't looking.

0:21:50 > 0:21:52They call this "fishing".

0:21:54 > 0:21:56Prisoners use threads from their sheets

0:21:56 > 0:21:58to send contraband from cell to cell.

0:22:12 > 0:22:15The solitary unit has its own underground economy.

0:22:19 > 0:22:24The packages contain messages, drugs and razor blades.

0:22:40 > 0:22:42# We have a bleeder!

0:22:43 > 0:22:46# We have a bleeder! #

0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Another day on the job? - Another day on the job.

0:22:52 > 0:22:56Barely a day goes by in the solitary unit without an inmate self-harming.

0:22:57 > 0:22:59This is a real clean-up right here.

0:23:01 > 0:23:05And when they do, other prisoners are paid to clean up the mess.

0:23:06 > 0:23:12We probably average about 20 of these a month, so... Yeah.

0:23:15 > 0:23:19In the last year, I've become an expert on blood, I guess.

0:23:23 > 0:23:26And it doesn't just mop up, does it?

0:23:26 > 0:23:29No, it doesn't. It coagulates, and it's...

0:23:30 > 0:23:34Generally, I try to saturate it with a germicide

0:23:34 > 0:23:37and then I use a sheet to mop it up

0:23:37 > 0:23:40and then afterwards I try to scrub it down.

0:23:47 > 0:23:51My heart goes out to everybody down here. I've been behind these doors,

0:23:51 > 0:23:54so I know what it's like to stay down here for years.

0:23:57 > 0:23:59Being behind these walls gets to everybody,

0:23:59 > 0:24:02and everybody deals with it in their own particular way.

0:24:04 > 0:24:05As you can imagine,

0:24:05 > 0:24:08someone being 17, 18 years old in a setting like this,

0:24:08 > 0:24:11you know, it's not really... It does a lot with your mind.

0:24:21 > 0:24:25I cut because it's my only way to escape.

0:24:25 > 0:24:29Obviously, being locked up, you don't have control of nothing.

0:24:31 > 0:24:35And...cutting myself makes me feel in control.

0:24:37 > 0:24:40Sam Caison is a regular visitor to the solitary unit

0:24:40 > 0:24:43and a prolific cutter.

0:24:43 > 0:24:47He's been in and out of prison his whole adult life.

0:24:47 > 0:24:49When his previous sentence ended,

0:24:49 > 0:24:52he was released from solitary straight to the street.

0:24:54 > 0:24:57I tried to tell my mom and everybody I didn't want anybody around

0:24:57 > 0:24:59and tried explaining why.

0:25:00 > 0:25:04When I got released, I got home and there was five people there,

0:25:04 > 0:25:07and I felt like there was 5,000 people there.

0:25:07 > 0:25:10Ultimately, for my first couple of months

0:25:10 > 0:25:13I pretty much locked myself in my camper

0:25:13 > 0:25:16until my mom and everybody...

0:25:19 > 0:25:21..tried to explain to me

0:25:21 > 0:25:24I'm not in prison, I shouldn't live like that.

0:25:31 > 0:25:38'I ultimately tried to force myself to live like I was still in seg,

0:25:38 > 0:25:40'because I didn't know what to do.'

0:25:42 > 0:25:48I went from the most restrictive place I've ever been

0:25:48 > 0:25:51to...no restrictions at all.

0:25:54 > 0:25:58Ultimately, I ended up shooting somebody and coming back.

0:26:00 > 0:26:03Do you think your time in seg has made you more dangerous?

0:26:05 > 0:26:07Yeah.

0:26:13 > 0:26:16Steven Kirkley has become a frequent cutter

0:26:16 > 0:26:17since coming to solitary.

0:26:20 > 0:26:23He's due to be released from prison in just four months.

0:26:25 > 0:26:27Now the warden has decided on a radical step

0:26:27 > 0:26:31to try to improve his behaviour before he's set free.

0:26:31 > 0:26:34He's moved him to the prison's mental health wing.

0:27:05 > 0:27:06The mental health wing

0:27:06 > 0:27:09is a very different place from the solitary unit.

0:27:12 > 0:27:15Most of the inmates here have serious mental illnesses.

0:27:17 > 0:27:19Many have come from solitary.

0:27:22 > 0:27:25Prison psychologist Dr Dan Bannish runs the wing.

0:27:29 > 0:27:31'It's... It's different.

0:27:31 > 0:27:34'Instead of the depressing clank of the prison,

0:27:34 > 0:27:36'it's trying to create something a little different.

0:27:38 > 0:27:41'Every breath, every movement, every portion,

0:27:41 > 0:27:43'everything in there is clinical.

0:27:43 > 0:27:45'There isn't a non-clinical thing we do.

0:27:45 > 0:27:48'Everything is geared towards skill developments,

0:27:48 > 0:27:51'relationship building, appropriate interactions.'

0:27:53 > 0:27:56'So everything about it is becoming social.'

0:27:56 > 0:27:58They're used to coming from

0:27:58 > 0:28:01environments where people hurt each other and are antisocial,

0:28:01 > 0:28:04and this is a whole build-up of how you relate to people,

0:28:04 > 0:28:07and you have to practise it every single day.

0:28:19 > 0:28:22Dr Bannish will now try to prepare Steven Kirkley

0:28:22 > 0:28:24for his imminent release.

0:28:24 > 0:28:28I'm worried about you, the future Mr Kirkley out here.

0:28:28 > 0:28:30Your life post-this is what matters.

0:28:30 > 0:28:34So that's what I work with you on, what I hold people accountable for.

0:28:34 > 0:28:36I say, "I want to see a plan for this man."

0:28:36 > 0:28:38I'm done, I'm done with all that.

0:28:38 > 0:28:41To be honest, I don't care, I don't care about any of that.

0:28:41 > 0:28:45- Then where are you going to go? - I'm going to do my own thing.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48But what is that? You're going to walk out the door to what?

0:28:48 > 0:28:49I'm going to walk out the door

0:28:49 > 0:28:51and I'm going to fucking pick up some cocaine

0:28:51 > 0:28:55and I'm going to fucking stand on the corner and I'm going to hustle.

0:28:55 > 0:28:56So that's like being here.

0:28:56 > 0:28:59That's all I know how to do, that's what I was brought up to do.

0:28:59 > 0:29:00That's all I know how to do.

0:29:00 > 0:29:04So that basically says you're going to live your life in here.

0:29:04 > 0:29:06If... If that's what it is, cos no...

0:29:06 > 0:29:08No, not IF it is, that's what it is.

0:29:08 > 0:29:10Nobody's helping me, though.

0:29:10 > 0:29:13I'm about to try to get a plan, because right now you got nothing.

0:29:13 > 0:29:15In all honesty, Mr Kirkley,

0:29:15 > 0:29:19all this stuff that's happening now is like white noise.

0:29:19 > 0:29:21The big thing is April, he walks out the door.

0:29:21 > 0:29:25and if he starts on day one out the door picking up your first rock,

0:29:25 > 0:29:27all this stuff,

0:29:27 > 0:29:29you're back to... you might as well stay.

0:29:29 > 0:29:34I might as well give you a gun, cos everybody's got one within a day.

0:29:34 > 0:29:36Shit, I got a couple buried!

0:29:36 > 0:29:40Yeah, I figured. Y'know? And I'm trying to be kind on this!

0:29:40 > 0:29:44Where are you actually physically going to be in April?

0:29:44 > 0:29:46Where are you going to get your money?

0:29:46 > 0:29:50You know HOW to get money, but that's part of the problem!

0:29:50 > 0:29:53The number one factor that brings people back to prison,

0:29:53 > 0:29:55you know what it is? Peers.

0:29:55 > 0:29:58If you're going to hang around with a bad group, you're coming back.

0:29:58 > 0:30:00If you hang around with a bad group, you'll stay,

0:30:00 > 0:30:02and you'll all be back here together.

0:30:02 > 0:30:04And when you're 45, you're going to be looking back,

0:30:04 > 0:30:07saying that was probably not a good idea.

0:30:07 > 0:30:10I'm going to tell you what you'll be thinking at 45,

0:30:10 > 0:30:13even though you don't believe me. OK?

0:30:13 > 0:30:15Sorry. I find myself lecturing. It's not anything...

0:30:15 > 0:30:17It helps, though!

0:30:17 > 0:30:19A lot of people tell me to shut up, so...

0:30:19 > 0:30:25I can honestly say that out of everybody I talk to in here,

0:30:25 > 0:30:27you're the smartest.

0:30:27 > 0:30:29And your lectures are good.

0:30:29 > 0:30:32It doesn't go in one ear and out the other.

0:30:32 > 0:30:37I can say you're probably one of the only people that cares, though.

0:30:37 > 0:30:40Well, I don't think I'm the only one, but I do care.

0:30:40 > 0:30:44I don't like the fact that you would be sent out to nothing.

0:30:44 > 0:30:47It's a waste of money, it's a waste of taxpayer dollars,

0:30:47 > 0:30:49it's a waste of a human being.

0:30:49 > 0:30:52And it doesn't mean giving you everything, either.

0:30:52 > 0:30:55It means setting things up so you have a chance to succeed.

0:30:55 > 0:30:58Right now, just to let you go, hoping...?

0:30:58 > 0:31:01All right? All right, take care, Mr Kirkley.

0:31:01 > 0:31:03I need to get a guy out.

0:31:09 > 0:31:12Get up and fight the team!

0:31:14 > 0:31:16The warden's effort to help Kirkley

0:31:16 > 0:31:19has created a new problem back on the solitary unit.

0:31:22 > 0:31:24The other inmates think prisoners who self-harm

0:31:24 > 0:31:26are getting preferential treatment.

0:31:29 > 0:31:30There might be some cookies and milk.

0:31:30 > 0:31:33Peter Gibbs is now threatening to start cutting himself

0:31:33 > 0:31:36if he doesn't get the prison transfer he wants.

0:31:39 > 0:31:41This is what I have to start doing.

0:31:41 > 0:31:45People have done stuff. They've gotten rewarded for it.

0:31:45 > 0:31:50I sit in my cell, I mind my own business, but there's no rewards!

0:31:56 > 0:31:57Hey, Gibbs!

0:31:59 > 0:32:00Gordon?

0:32:00 > 0:32:03Gibbs is not the only inmate causing trouble.

0:32:04 > 0:32:09Hey, how are you feeling about not getting that meeting today?

0:32:09 > 0:32:10After a year in solitary,

0:32:10 > 0:32:14Gordon Perry is also running out of patience.

0:32:14 > 0:32:17They told me the same thing. He was going to see me this week.

0:32:17 > 0:32:22If I don't get some answers by three o'clock, I'm covering my window.

0:32:22 > 0:32:25And if I don't get good enough answers, they're extracting me.

0:32:25 > 0:32:29It'll be a miracle if I don't get extracted today.

0:32:29 > 0:32:32It's unreal how they force people's hands here.

0:32:34 > 0:32:37I want to give them a little bit more time,

0:32:37 > 0:32:39because when I cover that window up, I'm serious.

0:32:39 > 0:32:42This ain't my first rodeo.

0:32:42 > 0:32:44I got a pretty good setup,

0:32:44 > 0:32:47and we're going to fucking hopefully fight the team!

0:32:51 > 0:32:53Come and get me!

0:32:58 > 0:33:00Now the warden and his staff

0:33:00 > 0:33:04have to talk down two of the most dangerous inmates in the unit.

0:33:04 > 0:33:06The only way you ever get anything round here is to act up.

0:33:06 > 0:33:09Sitting back being good for a year ain't fucking working.

0:33:09 > 0:33:12All I'm getting is smoke blown up my fucking ass every which way I look.

0:33:12 > 0:33:15This is going to disqualify you from New Hampshire.

0:33:15 > 0:33:18If you do this kind of shit, it's not going to happen.

0:33:18 > 0:33:20Of course it's going to happen!

0:33:20 > 0:33:23I've seen him make deals, like, left and right with people

0:33:23 > 0:33:25for putting this fucking shit up in the window.

0:33:25 > 0:33:28You got a couple of assaults in 17 years.

0:33:28 > 0:33:32How hard is it to move me? So I got to be out of here pretty soon.

0:33:32 > 0:33:33Because of what you've done here,

0:33:33 > 0:33:36we're going to move you out very slowly.

0:33:36 > 0:33:39What I need to know is when I move you out there,

0:33:39 > 0:33:40are you going to be safe?

0:33:40 > 0:33:42- Am- I- going to be safe?

0:33:42 > 0:33:45I need to know the other inmates are going to be safe as well.

0:33:45 > 0:33:48It ain't happening. You guys got me down here for a year.

0:33:48 > 0:33:51I'm all set with the stabbings, I'm ready to go out

0:33:51 > 0:33:54and try to enjoy myself a little bit.

0:33:54 > 0:33:56I'm willing to look at moving you along.

0:33:56 > 0:33:59But it's going to be a while. We've got to work the process.

0:33:59 > 0:34:02And I'm not interested in burying you.

0:34:02 > 0:34:07I'm already buried, though. I've already been down here a year.

0:34:07 > 0:34:09I want to be Maced.

0:34:09 > 0:34:10I don't want to Mace you, Gibbs.

0:34:10 > 0:34:13- I need to be Maced. - You don't need to be Maced.

0:34:13 > 0:34:16- I have to be.- No, you don't. There's no reason for this shit.

0:34:16 > 0:34:18If I cut up, will you Mace me?

0:34:18 > 0:34:20No. There's no reason for any of that stuff.

0:34:20 > 0:34:22You can't give me a little blast, just a little burst?

0:34:22 > 0:34:24I'm not going to give you a blast.

0:34:24 > 0:34:27- I understand you're frustrated, OK? - No, you don't understand.

0:34:27 > 0:34:29- I do. We had that conversation. - You have no clue.

0:34:29 > 0:34:30Don't think it's lost on me

0:34:30 > 0:34:32that you're locked in a box for 23 hours a day.

0:34:32 > 0:34:33I don't care about that.

0:34:33 > 0:34:37This is like being... This, to me, is nothing.

0:34:37 > 0:34:39That's what's so sad about segregation

0:34:39 > 0:34:42is after years and years and years,

0:34:42 > 0:34:45- you become retarded to it. - You're smarter than that.

0:34:45 > 0:34:48- I'm all fucked up. - But you're smarter than that, Gibbs.

0:34:48 > 0:34:50I'm fucked up from it.

0:34:50 > 0:34:52You're smarter than that.

0:34:52 > 0:34:56OK, so we'll evaluate it and we'll look at moving you along,

0:34:56 > 0:34:59and we'll talk next week. OK?

0:35:01 > 0:35:03OK. Have a good weekend.

0:35:12 > 0:35:14I can't even get fucking Maced in this place!

0:35:49 > 0:35:52Frozen, frozen, frozen, frozen, frozen!

0:36:13 > 0:36:15DOOR BUZZER

0:36:18 > 0:36:22Adam Brulotte thought he could cope with solitary,

0:36:22 > 0:36:26but after six weeks, his mental state is deteriorating fast.

0:36:28 > 0:36:32Last night, he covered his window and got extracted from his cell.

0:36:33 > 0:36:37Mr Brulotte, how are you feeling today?

0:36:37 > 0:36:39- Better.- That's good to hear.

0:36:39 > 0:36:42All I really want to do is go to school and not go to C pod.

0:36:42 > 0:36:45He's due to be released from prison in four months

0:36:45 > 0:36:46and is increasingly anxious

0:36:46 > 0:36:49about what he's going to do on the outside.

0:36:49 > 0:36:53He's desperate to take the basic education exam called the GED

0:36:53 > 0:36:56to give himself a chance of getting a job when he's released.

0:36:56 > 0:36:58I want you guys to know, I need fucking shit to do.

0:36:58 > 0:37:02- I need to go to school. - OK.- And I want my GED.

0:37:02 > 0:37:04That's all I ask.

0:37:04 > 0:37:05I'm not going to go out there

0:37:05 > 0:37:08and scram for another job selling drugs and shit

0:37:08 > 0:37:10because I don't have no education.

0:37:10 > 0:37:14I told you at your door yesterday, give me a shot, give me a chance.

0:37:14 > 0:37:15If I fill you full of shit,

0:37:15 > 0:37:18you do what you think you got to do and we'll do what we got to do.

0:37:18 > 0:37:20We'll do our best to get you the help you need.

0:37:20 > 0:37:22But I need you to do your part.

0:37:22 > 0:37:25You need to keep your head screwed on straight. OK?

0:37:28 > 0:37:32I got one for you, Kirkley and Griffin.

0:37:32 > 0:37:35I'm going to each give you something to do. I think you'll enjoy this.

0:37:35 > 0:37:38Now it's puzzles time. Oh, my God, it's puzzles!

0:37:38 > 0:37:40Back in the mental health unit,

0:37:40 > 0:37:43Dr Bannish is setting the inmates puzzles.

0:37:43 > 0:37:47It's part of the therapy designed to constructively engage the prisoners.

0:37:47 > 0:37:49You see how enjoyable these guys are?

0:37:49 > 0:37:52They don't want to be grumpy, they don't want to be upset,

0:37:52 > 0:37:53they want contact that's meaningful.

0:37:53 > 0:37:55There we go.

0:37:55 > 0:37:58- HE LAUGHS - This is a good one.

0:37:58 > 0:38:00No conferring with each other, either.

0:38:00 > 0:38:03We'll see if you got that by Monday.

0:38:09 > 0:38:11So you can't take it...

0:38:11 > 0:38:17The idea is to see if there's a way to keep mental health in their cell

0:38:17 > 0:38:18without having to be there,

0:38:18 > 0:38:22so we use a transitional object, something that represents me.

0:38:22 > 0:38:24I didn't just hand them pieces of paper,

0:38:24 > 0:38:26I made contact with each of them

0:38:26 > 0:38:28and reconnected with them, engaged with them.

0:38:28 > 0:38:30Then I'll be there to follow up with this piece,

0:38:30 > 0:38:32and they'll be all excited,

0:38:32 > 0:38:34especially if they've accomplished this thing.

0:38:34 > 0:38:36The other thing that they're unaware of,

0:38:36 > 0:38:38the actual thing that they're working on

0:38:38 > 0:38:40has clinical components attached to it

0:38:40 > 0:38:43that I'll be using the next time I meet them,

0:38:43 > 0:38:45because literally the solution has to do

0:38:45 > 0:38:48with other ways of looking at problems.

0:38:48 > 0:38:50That's another big hint I gave you.

0:38:50 > 0:38:54- Really? Oh, right!- So you got to give me another big hint.

0:38:54 > 0:38:59It's very healthy to struggle. There's nothing wrong with struggle.

0:38:59 > 0:39:01And that's why it's a struggle. I don't mind a struggle.

0:39:07 > 0:39:11Steven Kirkley used to be the most disruptive inmate in solitary.

0:39:11 > 0:39:14Since Dr Bannish started working with him,

0:39:14 > 0:39:15his behaviour has improved.

0:39:15 > 0:39:19I like to figure it out on my own. It's a challenge.

0:39:19 > 0:39:21That's why I do the New York Times crossword puzzle.

0:39:21 > 0:39:23Sometimes it takes me hours,

0:39:23 > 0:39:26but when you finally get it, it feels good.

0:39:26 > 0:39:28Did you ever do the New York Times crossword?

0:39:28 > 0:39:31Really?

0:39:31 > 0:39:35HE LAUGHS

0:39:35 > 0:39:37I walked into that one. OK.

0:39:37 > 0:39:40THEY LAUGH

0:39:40 > 0:39:43Sometimes you just have to think outside of yourself.

0:39:44 > 0:39:48- Huge clue. Huge clue! - HE LAUGHS

0:39:52 > 0:39:53Mr White!

0:39:53 > 0:39:55'We can't just bury these guys.

0:39:55 > 0:39:58'As a psychologist, I'm looking into what's effective,'

0:39:58 > 0:39:59what works,

0:39:59 > 0:40:02why do we keep doing things that don't work or make things worse,

0:40:02 > 0:40:05why don't we figure something else out.

0:40:05 > 0:40:06So every time I meet with him,

0:40:06 > 0:40:09it's much more of an uplifting kind of thing.

0:40:09 > 0:40:12We'll goof with each other, and he knows I'm not there to judge him.

0:40:12 > 0:40:15And I don't have him just as being this nasty kid,

0:40:15 > 0:40:18but I also know that he doesn't want to end up

0:40:18 > 0:40:20where he knows he's going to end up.

0:40:20 > 0:40:22He's a kid.

0:40:38 > 0:40:41Well, my fault would be trying to go by the rules.

0:40:41 > 0:40:44I don't have too much open-mindedness for the rules in here.

0:40:44 > 0:40:47And tell us why. There's always a reason, so let us know.

0:40:47 > 0:40:49Just, like, cos I'm a criminal

0:40:49 > 0:40:51and I don't like the rules that you guys have.

0:40:51 > 0:40:53Besides that!

0:40:53 > 0:40:57After more than a year in solitary, Gordon Perry is out of his cell.

0:40:58 > 0:41:01The last time he was in a room with other prisoners,

0:41:01 > 0:41:03he stabbed one with a screwdriver.

0:41:05 > 0:41:06Now he's joined a new programme

0:41:06 > 0:41:09being offered to inmates in the segregation unit.

0:41:09 > 0:41:13All you have to do is make the choice

0:41:13 > 0:41:16at the time that something is presented to you.

0:41:16 > 0:41:20"Am I going to push poop on my window? Am I going to cut myself?"

0:41:20 > 0:41:24Prisoners are asked to talk honestly about how they make decisions.

0:41:24 > 0:41:28The weekly classes are supposed to help them become less violent.

0:41:28 > 0:41:31Adam Brulotte is doing the programme too.

0:41:31 > 0:41:35I show pride, I try to go too far, and I start to get hard-headed.

0:41:35 > 0:41:37Doing what everybody wants.

0:41:37 > 0:41:40Yeah, "I'll be so much cooler if I break this guy's eye socket."

0:41:40 > 0:41:43If your pride's good, if you don't back down on shit,

0:41:43 > 0:41:46people give you respect, so that's a positive of that.

0:41:46 > 0:41:47What's the negative with the pride?

0:41:47 > 0:41:50If you're a bitch then people treat you like a bitch,

0:41:50 > 0:41:52- so they don't get no respect. - But that's no pride.

0:41:52 > 0:41:54Let's talk about having pride.

0:41:54 > 0:41:56Oh, the negative of it is coming to SMU,

0:41:56 > 0:41:58because you've got to bank somebody out

0:41:58 > 0:42:00because they put you in that situation.

0:42:00 > 0:42:04'That programme is bullshit. Everybody knows it.

0:42:04 > 0:42:07'I don't want to do this programme. I just want to get out of seg.'

0:42:08 > 0:42:09Do you want to change?

0:42:10 > 0:42:14Change for what? Change into what?

0:42:14 > 0:42:16I'm here for ever. There's nothing for me to ch...

0:42:16 > 0:42:19I'm a criminal, I'm not going to jump on the other side or anything.

0:42:19 > 0:42:22So I am what I am.

0:42:22 > 0:42:25'I think my character's pretty good overall.

0:42:25 > 0:42:27'Unless you're my enemy, it's pretty good, I think.

0:42:27 > 0:42:30'So that programme has nothing for me.'

0:42:47 > 0:42:49Most of the inmates in the solitary unit

0:42:49 > 0:42:51think the new classes are a waste of time.

0:42:57 > 0:43:00But the warden is encouraging them all to take part

0:43:00 > 0:43:04and work their way back into the prison's general population.

0:43:04 > 0:43:07What we're looking for as we're doing this programming

0:43:07 > 0:43:12is that we see a difference, we see a slow, incremental shift.

0:43:12 > 0:43:15'When you initiate these kinds of programmes, you get resistance.

0:43:15 > 0:43:18'It's not only inmates that are resisting us right now.

0:43:18 > 0:43:20'We still have some staff

0:43:20 > 0:43:24'that really don't believe that this stuff is going to work.'

0:43:24 > 0:43:28But I've seen it work. I'm an absolute believer in it working.

0:43:32 > 0:43:37Everything just went downhill from being a no-trouble-at-all inmate

0:43:37 > 0:43:41to all of a sudden just going right to the bottom of the ladder.

0:43:41 > 0:43:45'Most people would say, well, these people need to come into prison,

0:43:45 > 0:43:47'they need to be punished.

0:43:47 > 0:43:51'The punishment for the most part is they've lost their civil right,

0:43:51 > 0:43:53'they're behind these walls.

0:43:54 > 0:43:56'Once we get them behind these walls,

0:43:56 > 0:44:00'it is our job to rehabilitate them so they can become

0:44:00 > 0:44:03'successful, productive citizens in the community.

0:44:13 > 0:44:15'If we truly rehabilitate the inmates,

0:44:15 > 0:44:20'when we put them into society, we will create less victims,

0:44:20 > 0:44:22'and ultimately that's the goal.'

0:44:34 > 0:44:36I'm leaving in four and a half months,

0:44:36 > 0:44:38and they put me on the fucking bottom of the list.

0:44:38 > 0:44:41- They didn't... - I'm about to freak out!

0:44:41 > 0:44:42There's little evidence

0:44:42 > 0:44:45that the classes are improving Brulotte's behaviour.

0:44:45 > 0:44:46I don't give a fuck.

0:44:46 > 0:44:50He's angry that he still hasn't been able to take his GED exam.

0:44:50 > 0:44:52You're going to be getting your GED, OK?

0:44:52 > 0:44:55Well, I want to fucking do some testing tomorrow.

0:44:55 > 0:44:56- Absolutely.- Or I'll snap.

0:44:56 > 0:45:00You know what? That's a legitimate request,

0:45:00 > 0:45:02but you snapping isn't going to get it to you.

0:45:02 > 0:45:05Give me a shot at trying to fucking help you out with the GED bit.

0:45:05 > 0:45:07Yeah, and that's been two weeks! I'm this close!

0:45:07 > 0:45:10- OK.- I'm fucking close!

0:45:10 > 0:45:14Believe that bullshit, you'll believe any fucking thing!

0:45:14 > 0:45:16I'm not fucking believing nothing.

0:45:16 > 0:45:18Big house of lies!

0:45:20 > 0:45:23With no more information about his exam,

0:45:23 > 0:45:26Brulotte has decided to cover his window.

0:45:26 > 0:45:30You treat us like animals, we will act like animals!

0:45:30 > 0:45:31Do you want to come out

0:45:31 > 0:45:36- and talk about all this stuff that's going on?- I will after I fight!

0:45:40 > 0:45:42Brulotte pushes faeces under the door

0:45:42 > 0:45:44and threatens to cut himself next.

0:45:59 > 0:46:02If we go down through it, I'd like to take a look at who would be...

0:46:02 > 0:46:05The warden has now been in the job for six months.

0:46:05 > 0:46:07He faces some tough choices.

0:46:08 > 0:46:12I truly don't see him as significantly mentally ill.

0:46:12 > 0:46:14The longer he leaves inmates in solitary,

0:46:14 > 0:46:17the more disturbed they could become.

0:46:17 > 0:46:21When he's completed that programme, then he can go to general pop.

0:46:21 > 0:46:25But moving them out too soon could endanger staff and other prisoners.

0:46:25 > 0:46:27Gordon Perry...

0:46:27 > 0:46:29Now he's ready to take a risk

0:46:29 > 0:46:32with one of the prison's most dangerous inmates.

0:46:32 > 0:46:33If he's showing he's behaving

0:46:33 > 0:46:36and doing what he needs to do, we're gonna move him along.

0:46:36 > 0:46:39At some point, you got to give somebody a second chance.

0:46:39 > 0:46:41All right, let's do it.

0:46:48 > 0:46:51Friday. That's the day when it's set in stone?

0:46:51 > 0:46:53I wouldn't say it's 100% set in stone.

0:46:53 > 0:46:55You already promised me, it has to be.

0:46:55 > 0:47:00- No, no.- You gave your word.- You're going out. We'll get you out.

0:47:00 > 0:47:01Friday morning.

0:47:01 > 0:47:02Friday morning?

0:47:15 > 0:47:20More than a year after he arrived, Gordon Perry is leaving solitary.

0:47:32 > 0:47:34He's heading for a step-down unit

0:47:34 > 0:47:37for prisoners transitioning out of solitary.

0:47:37 > 0:47:40Inmates here are allowed out of their cells

0:47:40 > 0:47:43for a few hours each day, and required to take more classes.

0:47:44 > 0:47:46If Perry does well,

0:47:46 > 0:47:49he will eventually move to a unit with fewer restrictions.

0:47:59 > 0:48:02You know, he's a very dangerous individual

0:48:02 > 0:48:05but essentially I still believe that we can change him.

0:48:06 > 0:48:10Our obligation is to continue to provide him

0:48:10 > 0:48:12with the opportunity to change.

0:48:12 > 0:48:15I don't hesitate on the decision at all.

0:48:17 > 0:48:20I'm just hanging out, that's what I'm doing.

0:48:20 > 0:48:26My realistic, honest plan is to live as good as I can in here.

0:48:28 > 0:48:31But it's a fantasy to think you're going to change somebody

0:48:31 > 0:48:32that doesn't want to change.

0:48:38 > 0:48:40Open up at 2.10, please, Alpha, 2.10.

0:48:40 > 0:48:41Did they say 2.11 before?

0:48:47 > 0:48:50Perry is not the only inmate to leave solitary.

0:48:51 > 0:48:55Adam Brulotte is also being given a chance out in general population.

0:49:03 > 0:49:05Others follow.

0:49:10 > 0:49:13The number of inmates in solitary has now dropped by more than half

0:49:13 > 0:49:16and the number of inmates doing programmes has doubled.

0:49:19 > 0:49:23Frankly, I'm absolutely convinced what we're doing is going to work

0:49:23 > 0:49:24and it is working.

0:49:24 > 0:49:27I can tell you that the number of fights have dropped,

0:49:27 > 0:49:29the number of use of weapons has dropped,

0:49:29 > 0:49:32transports to the emergency room have dropped.

0:49:32 > 0:49:37So, overall, it's had a positive impact, but we're just beginning.

0:49:37 > 0:49:39Listen, this is me.

0:49:39 > 0:49:42This is how I express myself.

0:49:42 > 0:49:45It's either this, or this...

0:49:45 > 0:49:48After two weeks of good behaviour in the mental health unit,

0:49:48 > 0:49:53Steven Kirkley has also been moved back to general population.

0:49:53 > 0:49:55I like you and shit, but I don't like you

0:49:55 > 0:49:57so fucking much that I want you coming back here

0:49:57 > 0:50:00and hanging out with me, you know...

0:50:00 > 0:50:02He's been paired up with another inmate,

0:50:02 > 0:50:05who will act as a mentor to try to keep him out of trouble.

0:50:05 > 0:50:07There will be a time when you get out of here

0:50:07 > 0:50:11that someone's going to hand you a blunt and say, "Yo, smoke up."

0:50:11 > 0:50:15There will be a time when someone says, "Hey, yo, I know how we can make a quick buck."

0:50:15 > 0:50:17So what you need to do is understand

0:50:17 > 0:50:19that doesn't make them pieces of shit,

0:50:19 > 0:50:22they're not where they need to be, they're not in a healthy place,

0:50:22 > 0:50:25so they got nothing to offer you.

0:50:25 > 0:50:29So you got to be ready in your mind how to answer those questions

0:50:29 > 0:50:35right off the rip. "Hey, yo, I recognise this is a test

0:50:35 > 0:50:36"and that I can't fall for this

0:50:36 > 0:50:39"because I'm jeopardising this, this and this."

0:50:39 > 0:50:43He's real good, he's real good.

0:50:43 > 0:50:48Knowing that there's people in this facility that actually care.

0:50:48 > 0:50:51I can't give them my back, you know what I mean?

0:50:51 > 0:50:54I got to do my part, basically.

0:50:54 > 0:50:58That's the difference between guys that successfully do time,

0:50:58 > 0:51:01and guys that don't successfully do time.

0:51:02 > 0:51:06Back in the segregation unit, there's a familiar face.

0:51:06 > 0:51:08After threatening a prison officer,

0:51:08 > 0:51:11Adam Brulotte has been sent back to solitary.

0:51:12 > 0:51:16I tried to be good but I only lasted ten days.

0:51:16 > 0:51:19I'm done trying to be good. I'm going home in 90 days.

0:51:19 > 0:51:22All I have to do is 90 more and I'm done, I'm going home.

0:51:23 > 0:51:26Yeah, my mental health diminished.

0:51:26 > 0:51:29Slowly but surely, it would do it to anybody,

0:51:29 > 0:51:33I lasted a while, now I just think, "fuck it".

0:51:34 > 0:51:38They put me in the coldest cell in this whole prison as punishment.

0:51:38 > 0:51:41It's supposed to be like a certain...

0:51:41 > 0:51:43I don't know, this is America, not Russia,

0:51:43 > 0:51:45it's just fucking cold in here.

0:52:02 > 0:52:05BANGING AND SCREAMING

0:52:10 > 0:52:1210-4, primary and secondary.

0:52:12 > 0:52:15HE SHOUTS AND SCREAMS

0:52:17 > 0:52:20Fuck you, I want a fucking warmer room!

0:52:20 > 0:52:22Fucking shit of an icebox!

0:52:22 > 0:52:24Put your hands up here and I'll cuff you up.

0:52:24 > 0:52:28Fuck you, I want a fucking warmer room! This is bullshit!

0:52:35 > 0:52:38Brulotte has cut himself with a razor blade.

0:52:43 > 0:52:45Stop!

0:52:45 > 0:52:48- Calm down.- I've been fucking calm, I've been asking you all day,

0:52:48 > 0:52:50I'm not going to sleep in a fucking cold room!

0:52:50 > 0:52:52BANGING

0:52:52 > 0:52:56- PRISONER:- That blood is pouring out of him at the back, you need to bring him to medical, man.

0:52:56 > 0:53:01This is bullshit, fucking bullshit. Shouldn't have to fucking do this.

0:53:01 > 0:53:03Put him in something and bring him to medical.

0:53:03 > 0:53:07- How do you feel? - Fucking dead!

0:53:09 > 0:53:11Fucking put me in a fucking ice box.

0:53:17 > 0:53:21Brulotte sums up the dilemma faced by the prison.

0:53:21 > 0:53:24Out in the general population, he's a threat.

0:53:24 > 0:53:26In solitary, he gets worse.

0:53:33 > 0:53:37We've seen Adam Brulotte deteriorate since he arrived in seg.

0:53:37 > 0:53:40From someone who'd never hurt himself before, he cut up very badly,

0:53:40 > 0:53:43put faeces out of the door, did some pretty strange stuff.

0:53:43 > 0:53:46Was segregation the right place for a person like Adam?

0:53:46 > 0:53:50You just defined why we don't like to use segregation.

0:53:50 > 0:53:53But sometimes it's necessary.

0:53:53 > 0:53:56Mr Brulotte was engaged in some very, very serious behaviour

0:53:56 > 0:53:59while he was in general population.

0:53:59 > 0:54:02So, without a doubt, it was the right place for him.

0:54:06 > 0:54:08Did he spend too long in seg?

0:54:08 > 0:54:11You know, that's a real hard question to answer.

0:54:11 > 0:54:15There's a lot of grey area in some of the decisions that we make.

0:54:15 > 0:54:18There's no exact science to any one of these guys,

0:54:18 > 0:54:21you have to try to figure them out as we go along.

0:54:22 > 0:54:27But ultimately, when we're moving him back into general population,

0:54:27 > 0:54:30we have to be certain that the staff are going to be safe,

0:54:30 > 0:54:34the other inmates are going to be safe, and he's going to be safe.

0:54:52 > 0:54:55Before you went to seg, did you ever imagine

0:54:55 > 0:54:57you would cut yourself like that?

0:54:57 > 0:55:01No, never. I didn't even know what it was.

0:55:01 > 0:55:06And I seen a couple of people doing it, so then I started doing it.

0:55:06 > 0:55:09Do you think it's changed you for ever?

0:55:10 > 0:55:12I don't know, have to find out.

0:55:12 > 0:55:14I'm going to try to be normal again.

0:55:19 > 0:55:22Just the routine every day gets to you.

0:55:23 > 0:55:25I've been down here four months

0:55:25 > 0:55:29and I've gotten in trouble like 30 times...

0:55:30 > 0:55:32..and been extracted umpteen times,

0:55:32 > 0:55:35flooded my whole room out, couple of times.

0:55:37 > 0:55:38Just stuff to pass the time away.

0:55:40 > 0:55:45And I guess they don't like that, they think I'm crazy for it, but...

0:55:46 > 0:55:48You got to do something.

0:56:02 > 0:56:06A year after the warden arrived at the Maine State Prison,

0:56:06 > 0:56:08his new regime is seeing results.

0:56:10 > 0:56:12Violence at the prison is falling.

0:56:13 > 0:56:16The number of inmates in isolation is falling.

0:56:18 > 0:56:21And almost uniquely for an American supermax prison,

0:56:21 > 0:56:26the warden remains focused on rehabilitating even his most dangerous prisoners.

0:56:29 > 0:56:32It's not easy, OK, this is tough work,

0:56:32 > 0:56:35there are some inmates down there right now, it's going to be

0:56:35 > 0:56:38a long time before they make it from the segregation unit

0:56:38 > 0:56:40back into general population.

0:56:40 > 0:56:43So I do believe that segregation has a place,

0:56:43 > 0:56:46particularly in a supermax, but I think to keep people there

0:56:46 > 0:56:50and have them languish, you're making them worse,

0:56:50 > 0:56:52you're making them angrier

0:56:52 > 0:56:55and when you do in fact release them to the community,

0:56:55 > 0:56:59the likelihood of creating more victims is increased significantly.

0:57:03 > 0:57:04After filming finished,

0:57:04 > 0:57:07Steven Kirkley was sent back to the segregation unit

0:57:07 > 0:57:09for assaulting an officer.

0:57:11 > 0:57:15He was ultimately released straight from solitary to the street.

0:57:19 > 0:57:22Adam Brulotte was sent back to general population

0:57:22 > 0:57:24from the mental health unit.

0:57:24 > 0:57:26He's since been released from prison.

0:57:29 > 0:57:31Gordon Perry was caught with contraband

0:57:31 > 0:57:33and sent back to solitary.

0:57:36 > 0:57:38Within hours, he cut open a vein.

0:57:43 > 0:57:46Peter Gibbs is still in solitary.

0:57:46 > 0:57:49Right on the edge of having a complete nervous breakdown.

0:57:50 > 0:57:52There are no plans to release him.