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120 Hours Behind Bars - Season 1 - Episode 01: Washington Parish Jail
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00:16Two different inmates gave me the same information about the box and strips in here, two different
00:21inmates in two different places, so we're going to check it off.
00:27All right, anywhere in a day can shove anything.
00:31I had it brought in when somebody came in, shoved up their back door in their prison
00:36purse.
00:39What you got?
00:40I believe I found some boxing strips.
00:42Where at?
00:43In this waistband right here.
00:46So whenever they come in, this is covered, I'll fill it all the way around.
00:50Go give me some scissors, Jordan.
00:53Some boxing strips are something that they take whenever you're trying to get off opioids.
00:59You can go to the doctor and get prescribed this.
01:02This will help you get off of whatever you're addicted to, but you also can get addicted
01:06to this easily.
01:09You can literally take a piece that big and it gets you really high.
01:15Me and myself, I watched a lot of documentaries before I became a correctional officer.
01:19So I kind of already knew what we did during shakedowns.
01:22I love it.
01:24Very exciting.
01:26We'll be cutting waistband from here on out.
01:40There are over 3,000 jails in the U.S. detaining over half a million, each one a world of
01:48its own.
01:48Running a jail is tough.
01:52Surviving inside is tougher.
01:54Hit them with the thunder.
01:55Let's go, let's go.
01:57For 120 hours, five days, our cameras are inside.
02:01We're talking now.
02:03Capturing the officers, inmates, and moments that define life behind bars.
02:10I'll be home soon, alright?
02:27Located an hour and a half north of New Orleans in the small town of Franklinton, Louisiana,
02:32Washington, Paris Jail was originally billed to house 160 pre-trial detainees.
02:39But a backlog in the court system has the jail bursting at the seams,
02:44with a current head count just over 220.
02:47Jail! Jail! Jail!
02:49And some inmates waiting years for a court date.
03:00Upon entering the jail, new inmates will be strip-searched, dressed out into jumpsuits,
03:05and brought into the jail's booking room for photos and fingerprinting.
03:14Bullshit ass.
03:15Bitch, I'mma get them held, pick them trays up.
03:19Hey, shorty.
03:24All right, all your clothes come off.
03:27Face that wall.
03:29Squat, call for me.
03:33All right, I'm Sergeant Grunfield.
03:35I'll take you about five photos of you, and then I'll get your fingerprint.
03:42I'm the sergeant of the jail.
03:43I love to do my job.
03:45I love to go buy the book.
03:46I have been since I was a brand-new correctional deputy here.
03:49Go ahead and give this back to you.
03:51You can keep these.
03:53I'm not too sure why they took them from you.
03:55You can keep your gray underwear and your white T-shirt.
04:00You can step up here to this white screen.
04:05Turn to face that wall for me.
04:09All right.
04:09Oh, your eyes are closed.
04:11This camera is funny.
04:17Oh, do you use any alcohol or street drugs?
04:19I only drink on occasion, and that's if I go to the drug.
04:23And the only drug that I do is smoke marijuana, and that's on occasion as well.
04:28It's just the weak man.
04:31You'll sign that first one that's going to be stating that we have your property,
04:35and this one here is stating that we've given you property.
04:37We have a matte sheet, blanket, cup, and spoon.
04:44I'm going to print his ID badge out.
04:47Booking process is done.
04:49Yeah, that was it.
04:50I mean, it's an easy process.
04:53You can come step out here, Mr. Brandon.
04:57Inmate Brandon Duhon is new to Washington-Paris jail,
05:00but has been arrested multiple times before.
05:03So how come they moved you from Baudelosa over here?
05:06Because this is where they do felony charges or whatever they say.
05:10So it's a felony because they found that little piece of joint in my pocket,
05:15like that inside of the building, before they even put me in population.
05:20I didn't even know it was in there.
05:22I carry a purse, so if it's not in my purse, then I don't know.
05:28Felony drug charges are common in this area of Louisiana
05:32and reflect the issues plaguing the Washington Parish streets.
05:35A piece of blunt this big, they could have threw their s*** away.
05:43I don't know what it's going to be like.
05:45I mean, especially being a homosexual,
05:47I mean, you know, it's either they like you or they don't like you.
05:55Once booked in, the inmates are assigned to a housing unit known in Washington Parish as blocks.
06:03It could be placed in the alpha.
06:06Whenever they go in the blocks, it's all in their attitude.
06:09If you go in and you flaunting it around, they're not going to want you in there.
06:13If you go in and you kind of stay to yourself, you know, you found a few friends that you
06:16can talk to.
06:17You got to get in there and pick the right crew, though.
06:20If the block wants you out, the block's going to get you out one way or the other.
06:24I'm placing Mr. Brandon in the A block.
06:27That would be pretty much our protective custody.
06:30That would be really a more safer block for him to go just because of his preference of life.
06:38You know, just with me having my sexual preference, I would want to be safe if I was in jail.
06:42I wouldn't want no target.
06:44You know, I wouldn't want to be a target.
06:46So I just try to make them feel safe as best as I can.
06:50Brandon will remain in A block until he can see a judge for his bond hearing.
07:01My family's been in Washington Parish for about five generations.
07:04I was a Marine of Charleston for 22 years.
07:07I met my wife between my first and second deployments to Iraq.
07:10And when it came time for us to retire from the Marine Corps, we moved back down here.
07:16Here we are now, decided to run for sheriff, and now we're doing this.
07:26How's it going?
07:28I'm all right. Pay no attention to the cameras.
07:31Y'all coming out?
07:33Did y'all get it all done?
07:35All the one of them.
07:37All the one of them?
07:40Newly elected sheriff Jason Smith faces the challenge of bringing this 40-year-old jail up to his high standards.
07:47Now this is actually, we're trying to, the only reason this is still here, because this is kind of bar
07:51back in the jail for me.
07:53Like it should be way up front, but it's not.
07:57It's just where it's always been.
07:58So once we get the paint, this will be removed, and everything will be moved forward.
08:04So...
08:04Just locking up my service weapon.
08:07You'll see our sign right there, no firearms or ammo beyond this point.
08:11Previous administrations were focused on different priorities than I have.
08:14The jail is the single biggest responsibility.
08:18It has the most people on a daily basis.
08:19It has the most moving parts on a daily basis.
08:23So, I spend more time down here than I think people were expecting me to spend.
08:30But, you know, people judge your priorities based off your presence.
08:33So I'm trying to be down here, because this is a huge problem for us.
08:37So this is our control room.
08:39As you can see, we're using it as kind of a booking room as well.
08:43On the other side of this wall here was our original booking room when the building was designed.
08:47But because we're so overcrowded, we currently have female inmates living in the booking room.
08:50So everything has to be done in here, which, as you can see, presents a problem when we're booking in
08:55people in full view of every camera we've got.
08:58We also do bonds in here.
09:00Like, we can't separate all these things out by functionality.
09:03It all kind of ends up in here, because the spaces that were designed for these things don't exist anymore.
09:07They've got people living in here.
09:09Stay strong.
09:10Try to. Hang in there.
09:13Why does it matter for you to have a better sheriff's department in Washington?
09:16Because I chose to live here.
09:17I got five kids.
09:19I chose for them to be from here.
09:22This is our home.
09:24You know, we've got a high crime rate per capita here in Washington Parish.
09:28We've got a drug problem that kind of drives a lot of the crime.
09:32You know, just a couple years ago, of the 3,144 counties, if you include D.C., in the country,
09:39we were 14th for opioid overdoses per capita.
09:42You the only one down here in Holloway?
09:44Yes, sir.
09:46It's not obvious to me why we've become a destination for drug addicts and gangbangers, but we have.
09:52We're trying to change that.
09:54But the only way you can change this is you've got to get involved.
09:57Did y'all want me to go in first or you want me to go in first?
10:04What we got going on, gentlemen?
10:08I had heard nothing but negative things about the jail, the condition of the facility, the way that it was
10:15being run.
10:16But when I walked in, it was worse than I had anticipated.
10:23I sleep right there, bro.
10:26Come to God, look at how they turn.
10:27Look at that. Everywhere.
10:31See, y'all can see all of the vandalism on the walls and whatnot.
10:36You can see the cells on the side.
10:39We don't have any doors there anymore.
10:41The doors were removed sometime 10, 12, 13 years ago.
10:47So we don't have the ability to lock anybody down.
10:49We're kind of doing open-style dorm living all the time.
10:55So you say we've got people living in all these cells, and then we've got people living out here in
10:59the middle.
11:05How many was it really designed for?
11:07It was designed for 24.
11:09How many are in here now?
11:11How many we got in here right now?
11:1550 gets too much, and then we really have to do some.
11:18But it hovers around 40 all the time.
11:23If we were in a position where this building was at its max capacity as it was designed,
11:28if there was a problem, we'd just lock everybody in their cell.
11:30And then we'd deal with the people that weren't abiding by the rules.
11:33But the way it is now, everybody's out, and we can't lock them down.
11:37So we've got to, you know, it's more dangerous for the inmates.
11:40It's more dangerous for the correctional officers.
11:41It's just a dangerous situation.
11:44Sheriff Smith, good to know you're trying, man.
11:45We're trying.
11:46We're trying.
11:47God bless you.
11:50As Sheriff Smith exits B Block, a young inmate named Gage Russo follows.
11:56Now I'm going back in.
11:57As soon as you got closing guards, they're going to roll me out.
11:59No **** with that.
12:00I'm about to get beat up for nothing?
12:01No.
12:02No.
12:03Hey.
12:04You've got an inmate that's refusing to go back in.
12:06They're going to need some help.
12:08They're trying to pick my, my trade.
12:10They're trying to say, yeah.
12:12So I'm like, I don't know why I'm not trying to be racist.
12:14He said, man, I can pick any trade you want.
12:17Any small trades you get, I'm picking it.
12:19And no matter what it is.
12:21Or I'm getting smacked.
12:22I'm not going back in that **** dorm no matter what.
12:25I'm a little white kid.
12:26Look at me.
12:26My arms are small.
12:27I can't fight these big ass dudes.
12:29Ain't no way I'm going back in that dorm, son.
12:31No ****.
12:38He's refusing to go back in.
12:39Ain't no way I'm going back in that dorm, son.
12:41No ****.
12:43Call me in this block.
12:44I ain't going nowhere else.
12:46End of the story.
12:48Inmate Gage Russo is refusing to return to B Block.
12:51I'm not going back in that **** dorm no matter what.
12:54I'm a B.
12:55Hey, Warden.
12:57Warden Joseph Taylor is called to assist with the situation.
13:01What's wrong?
13:02Hey, man.
13:02You told me they bought a tray out of here.
13:05Just checking it.
13:05I'm in an easy field.
13:07As soon as I get back there, man.
13:09As soon as I get back there.
13:11Man, listen.
13:12They're all part of the deal.
13:13They're trying to get everything out of my bag.
13:15They want my glasses.
13:16They want my clothes.
13:17They want everything.
13:18I ain't done that wrong.
13:19I need you.
13:20I don't know.
13:22Look.
13:22Big Daddy said I own something.
13:25Hey, man.
13:26How the ****?
13:26Wait a minute.
13:27You don't talk better than that.
13:28I don't know.
13:29I don't know who he is.
13:30I just came in this room today.
13:32I don't know.
13:32Where he at?
13:33I'm sorry.
13:34I'm just nervous.
13:35How do I supposed to owe you something when I just came here, big dog?
13:39Oh, you owe me $15.
13:41I don't owe you $15 for money.
13:43I don't owe you $15 for money.
13:46Who is here, money?
13:48Who's doing the hard to waste?
13:50Nobody gets you money.
13:51We just trying to take this shit.
13:54We got it.
13:55We got it.
13:55We got it.
13:57We got it.
13:58Crazy how they treat you in this jail, man.
14:00Y'all don't come to Washington Parish, bro.
14:02It's terrible.
14:08I've been to St. Sam.
14:09I've been to Millard.
14:11I've been to N.O.P.P. New Orleans.
14:13It's my first time here and by far out of all the jails.
14:16This is the worst.
14:18Can't you stop, sir?
14:19Where we going?
14:19The warden reluctantly agrees to move Russo into a different pod for the time being.
14:29Did you show any weakness in him?
14:45Inmate Russo will be held indefinitely in the short blocks, where cells are smaller and
14:49space is limited.
14:52I don't know his name or what his circumstances were, but he's a recent addition to the jail
14:57and they were trying to put him into the long blocks.
15:00And every time we introduce somebody into a new environment, you know, there's a certain
15:04amount of trepidation that comes with being put in a big room with a lot of people you
15:07don't know.
15:09So we're constantly trying to manage these personal dynamics between inmates and try to
15:13put them in a situation where they're going to be safe.
15:25Do you have any allergies, arthritis, asthma, or diabetes?
15:28No.
15:38No.
15:56No.
15:57No.
15:58It's harder than somebody could possibly have sinus, real torque, real torque, because
16:07This the four-way mansion here.
16:08This how we's living there.
16:11Uh, taste for day, this how we're living.
16:13You know what I'm saying.
16:14We everywhere with it.
16:15You're all under the bed with you.
16:18We're in the south, bro.
16:19They take a shoe screen.
16:20So you take a T-shirt and cut it up, make shoe screens out of it.
16:26We got a chill block.
16:27We don't really have too much going on.
16:28That's why everybody loves the block.
16:30You get your E-cigarette, you can order your vape.
16:33We be chilling.
16:34We laid back over here.
16:37So what is the dorm rap?
16:40Well, I really...
16:42They say the dorm rap is somebody who look after the dorm.
16:44You clean up, you make sure everybody get their tray,
16:46you keep everything in order.
16:48But you really don't got to do nothing, for real.
16:50If you got a dorm full of grown men who know how to respect each other,
16:53you ain't got to keep nothing in order.
16:54You feel what I'm saying?
16:55And how does somebody get chosen to be the dorm rap?
16:58Well, I guess because if you be here long enough,
17:00like they go by whoever's been in the jail the longest,
17:02if you've been in the dorm the longest,
17:04they'll pick you to be the dorm rap.
17:05They ain't going to pick nobody who they feel like the dorm ain't going to respect
17:08because if they pick somebody that's weak, they're going to get ran over.
17:11You know?
17:12How old are y'all?
17:13I'm 23.
17:15I've been in jail since I was 19, though.
17:18Were you in D-block the whole time or they moved you around?
17:20I've been in every dorm in the jail.
17:22I'd have been in all of them.
17:24Even in lockdown, short-block dorms.
17:26Short-block way smaller.
17:28They ain't got no air.
17:29They ain't got no TVs.
17:31No microwave.
17:31No microwave.
17:33You were going to see you all day.
17:35No lock, stretched out.
17:37You would really go crazy now.
17:4080%, 75% that go in short-block,
17:42man, they're going there normal before you know they be spitting their shit on the wall.
17:46So can I ask you what you guys are charged with?
17:48Nah.
17:49We looking at life in prison.
17:50You know what I'm saying?
17:51Mother come in here and be looking at five years, two years, ten years,
17:55and they take advantage of that they in here fighting and doing the most.
17:58Just start s***ing because they know at the end of the day they ain't looking at that much time.
18:02We looking at enough time and we can get through a weight.
18:04You feel what I'm saying?
18:04So we got big s***.
18:06We got to be worried about it, you know?
18:07But you got to get through it.
18:08But it can be better, though.
18:10You know?
18:11But you got to make it better.
18:12You got to make it better.
18:12Because if you stress, you'll go crazy.
18:16You'll go crazy.
18:16So you got to stay in the right mindset.
18:17You got to stay prayed up, talk to God.
18:19You know?
18:20You got to keep going.
18:21You got to keep pushing.
18:22We're going to talk.
18:23We pray every day, bro.
18:25Really, like, it be times to be down.
18:27And that's all we got is to pray.
18:29You feel me?
18:30And you feel better, you know?
18:32What's the worst thing that you've heard happen in these blocks?
18:36See, you know what I'm saying?
18:37We have a lot going on.
18:38But a couple months ago, we had a little gang fight.
18:40You know what I'm saying?
18:40A couple people got bust up, got, you know,
18:43sent them by us into the hospital.
18:44You know what I'm saying?
18:45So as dorm rep, do you have to try to keep that at a minimum?
18:49Yeah, I be trying.
18:50But if something going on between you and him,
18:52and it's personal, I can just tell y'all to chill.
18:55But if y'all don't chill, then, hey,
18:57y'all going to do what y'all going to do.
18:59You know what I'm saying?
19:00How does the staff not stop that stuff?
19:03They got cameras, so they be watching the cameras.
19:05They watch TV, man.
19:07They're sitting there watching get beat up.
19:08And then come back here after the fight over.
19:13To ensure inmate safety,
19:16officers keep a watchful eye on security cameras,
19:19both day and night.
19:21I've seen a lot of dangerous things happen in here.
19:24I have experienced multiple altercations.
19:27But you never know what's going to happen in corrections.
19:45In C-Block, deputies are responding to an inmate fight
19:49caught on surveillance camera.
19:53I have 있는ny's death.
20:01I have arrested.
20:05All right.
20:09Let's do this.
20:11We have been doing it together in linkage.
20:12Let the men steal.
20:13Let your men steal!
20:14Let the men steal!
20:15Let the men steal!
20:16They at them, they've locked the whole Vous
20:27Control room personnel help identify both inmates involved in the fight.
20:33Officers remove the inmates and escort them to holding cells.
20:59I just went and did it to try to get the **** over with.
21:06We kind of just, ah, we ain't hurt each other.
21:12Was it hard to resist?
21:14To push back?
21:16There's six, seven youngsters, yeah.
21:18You know, you're getting put up against a lot you don't even want.
21:20I mean, I could tell he didn't want to fight me, I didn't want to fight him.
21:23He's basically trying to test you.
21:25Yeah, that's what it is.
21:27Trying to see who's the weakest.
21:28And if you don't stand up for your ground, man, they're going to run you out.
21:32You know, they're going to keep getting you again and again.
21:34You got it. You're sorry.
21:38This is the second fight in C-Block today.
21:42Welcome to C-Block. Welcome to C-Block.
21:44After a fight in Washington, Paris jail, officers review all footage to corroborate inmate stories and pursue any legal or
21:51disciplinary measures.
22:08All right, so what I want to do is pull a few of these guys out, see if they'll talk
22:11about the situation that we might have going on in there.
22:14Appreciate it.
22:16Assaults and other safety emergencies are investigated by the jail's investigation unit, led by Lieutenant Jeff Crowe.
22:25I'm the only investigator right now in the jail.
22:28Primarily, I conduct investigations about violations, not just of the law, but also of jail policy.
22:36So this is a note from an inmate that I was handed yesterday by the warden.
22:41And in this note, he basically split this into a three-part complaint, which is one of the most elaborate
22:46notes I've ever seen from an inmate.
22:47He's saying some screws were removed and are being used for threats and eventual violence.
22:52And he gave me this nice little drawing about where the screws are missing from on the bottom of a
22:57locker hinge.
22:59The second part of his note says that there's a guy keeping several young men in fear of their lives.
23:04This man needs to be removed immediately as several fear him and his threats of violence daily, including myself.
23:10If anything, please remove and relocate that person or the three of us.
23:17He put anonymous at the bottom, and I don't know who wrote the letter. I don't recognize the handwriting.
23:23It is serious because he's talking about inmates possessing weapons or shivs.
23:27So if you don't know, a shiv is an improvised weapon.
23:31If you're the guy making the weapon, ideally it's metal, but sometimes they use plastic or whatever they can get.
23:42One of the ones I worked involved in three people who were all 17 years old at the time.
23:47So they were all hanging out in their dorm.
23:50The kid was peeing in a bottle and pouring it into the shower while that other kid was in the
23:57shower.
23:58While he was so upset with him, he had done it several times.
24:00And that's why one morning I came to work and I was told that the kid had shanked or stabbed
24:06another kid.
24:19You know, we evacuated the guy who was cut for medical attention and we searched the block and found a
24:26contraband weapon.
24:27Actually, it was this contraband weapon.
24:29This is formed from an aluminum wire used to hang a broom.
24:33And whenever they make something into a weapon like this from a common component they already have access to,
24:39that's introduction to contraband because they repurposed it as a weapon.
24:43I mean, these guys have nothing but time and they're very creative.
24:46So if you take a screw and you're able to wrap a handle on the back of it,
24:51you've got the front part of this two, three inch steel screw to stab a guy in jail,
24:55a lot of times that's the best they can do.
24:57This is the kind of stuff they make.
24:59The hardest part of this initial puzzle here is going to be finding the three screws.
25:03It's kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack in a 40-man dorm.
25:20Is it alright if we come in and chat with you all a little bit?
25:26I mean, this is tight in here. How is this set up? Like, can somebody show us around?
25:32Over here is the bathroom.
25:33And there's just, how many toilets are there?
25:36One.
25:36That's the shower over here.
25:39It's like one big cement shower.
25:44Washington Parish Jail has two female blocks.
25:47This one, known as the booking dorm, used to be where inmates were booked into the jail.
25:53Due to overcrowding, the jail has had to repurpose multiple spaces to accommodate more inmates.
26:00There's not even a window in here.
26:02It's like living in a cave.
26:05Underground, like a bunker or something.
26:09It seems really tight.
26:11It is. You barely can walk around, mostly lay on your bed and watch TV.
26:16That's pretty much what you do.
26:17I mean, there's some mats on the floor. Like, how is it?
26:20If there's an open bunk, grab it if you can get it. If there's not, find a spot on the
26:25floor.
26:26Yeah, I've been here for 33 months now.
26:29Three days.
26:30I've been in here eight months.
26:32I've been in here five months.
26:34I'm waiting to get shipped to prison.
26:37I have a five-year sentence.
26:41It's definitely not easy.
26:43It is really hard.
26:44Yeah, and I have a 16-year-old daughter, and it hurts me because I'm going to miss her high
26:49school graduation, you know?
26:50Yeah, the milestones you're going to miss.
26:54And I'm going off, you know, I'm waiting to get shipped, and my daughter's, you know, going to be four
27:00this year, and next year, if I'm not out, I'm going to miss her going to kindergarten for the first
27:04time.
27:06And my oldest is 11.
27:09He's a mama's boy, and it's the longest I've been away from my babies.
27:13It is the hardest thing I think I ever had to do.
27:16But I'm hoping, you know, once I get up to prison, you know, my kids will be able to come
27:21see me, and I'll be able to communicate with them and stuff like that.
27:35How was last night?
27:37How was last night?
27:38I slept in a corner on the floor where the shower is next to it, so my blanket gets wet.
27:44Yeah, appreciate it.
27:45Brandon is waiting to speak to the judge to find out if he'll be able to bond out.
27:49Vernon Dumas!
27:56It's a new judge that we have.
27:58He don't give no mercy.
27:59He's an older judge.
28:00He's been in the system a long time.
28:02He sees a lot of repeat offenders, and he just gets tired of it.
28:06So he doesn't set it where it's easy enough for them to find out, go back out on the streets
28:11and go back to the same drugs that they just got arrested on,
28:13or, you know, go back to the same house that they just burglarized, or anything like that.
28:18You know, he wants them to sit in here and learn their lessons behind everything.
28:22Oh, why y'all got to wait to hear this?
28:25Gotta wait to tell me the right now.
28:27You know what I mean?
28:28Y'all in this place is some bull , I swear to God.
28:31I didn't get a chance to say anything.
28:33Half of them charges that he talked about on the screen, I was locked up for five years and five
28:37months.
28:37Why come they wasn't taken care of while I was in there?
28:39You know, see, that's what I'm saying.
28:41It's the system.
28:42They say it works, but it really doesn't.
28:55I can never get no straight answer from nobody.
28:59They don't know when I can get a visit, but they work here.
29:02They don't know when I can see this, but they've been working here for years.
29:05The public defender, you're going to have to talk to them whenever.
29:08It's for real whenever.
29:09Whenever they feel like they're going to step inside of this jail.
29:12I can't make them do nothing.
29:16Just like I do my job, they got a job to do as well.
29:22Mr. Branding is acting up pretty bad.
29:24He had an attitude, I guess, you know, because he was mad about his bond setting.
29:27I don't know what's going on here.
29:30I understand that they've got to get frustration out too.
29:32But as well, I grew up really big on respect.
29:35I'm a respectful person until I get disrespected.
29:38Pretty much every inmate in this facility knows that.
29:41Due to Brandon's unresolved past charges, the judge did not set a bond.
29:46Laundry going in.
29:48Brandon will stay in A Block until he is able to speak with the public defender.
30:01I'm coming to you out next.
30:03All right.
30:09Oh, Mr. Come here.
30:13Yeah, I'm good.
30:15This door is hard.
30:22Okay, look, I'm finna do commissary.
30:25Y'all know how it go.
30:27No hands in your pocket.
30:30If I get my hands in your pocket and I'm shutting this door, I'm gone.
30:35Okay.
30:38Why?
30:39At the Washington Parish Jail in Franklinton, Louisiana,
30:43snacks and essential items are available for purchase
30:45and delivered once a week through a digital marketplace called Commissary.
30:50Hey, redhead, you want me to stop this?
30:53Right here.
30:56Tap.
30:58During the intake process, inmates are given an account and PIN number
31:02where they and loved ones can add money for phone calls and commissary purchases.
31:07Got a little commissary, a little noodles and meat pack.
31:12We get a load of their thirst and .
31:14By the next Thursday, we've been ate all that .
31:21You're gonna eat a stir-fried rice?
31:24We'll cook something for y'all.
31:26Get some jailhouse .
31:29Get some chicken, oysters, pebbles, some hot sauce.
31:33You gotta take it all off this right here, off these oysters.
31:37It costs to live like this.
31:39It's exotic right here.
31:41It means something to eat like this right here.
31:43Everybody can't eat like this right here.
31:45Everybody can't eat like this right here.
31:47Next to the microwave.
31:51Inmates with outside financial support are able to afford extra food from commissary.
31:58I got $9 more dollars.
32:01Those without a support system in place often turn to gambling or go hungry.
32:06If you want to make a store and you want to got two soups, and you take your two soups
32:10and go gamble.
32:10You can win the whole bag.
32:12It's like a little stoke.
32:13Sometimes it'll be like $60 in the bag.
32:16So they had $100 in there the other day.
32:19So it helps for people who want to make stokes.
32:21They can win more money.
32:27Anybody there?
32:28See, I folded my cards.
32:29I ain't got that.
32:35Eat, cooking, that's really a big thing in there.
32:39Because if you don't eat, you gon' starve, man.
32:43Y'all gon' see the lunch tray, man.
32:44Ain't nothing but a sandwich on that one bologna sandwich.
32:47That ain't gon' be nobody full, man.
32:49Not for six hours, anyway.
32:53Without surviving.
33:13All right, let's go.
33:16Everybody out.
33:17Outstairs.
33:17Who's out?
33:19Hoping to find the missing screws mentioned in the anonymous inmate letter, Warden Taylor has ordered an immediate shakedown of
33:26b-block.
33:28Everybody's out.
33:30All right.
33:31We're looking for pills, we're looking for batteries, shanks, anything they should know.
33:36I got something right here.
33:41Hey, Warden.
33:43Yeah?
33:44That's part of a razor.
33:49Based on the intel gathered by Lieutenant Crowe, Warden Taylor and his team are shaking down the whole facility, starting
33:56with b-block.
34:03So we're basically looking for anything modified, could be a sharpened-up toothbrush, any type of shank, any type of
34:10loose pills.
34:11They're not supposed to have any medication back here.
34:15Oh, I got something right here.
34:18Basically, an e-cigarette battery, they can get them on commissary.
34:22They'll use this battery to light any type of little fire, smoke something.
34:26Basically, to light just about anything they can get their hands on.
34:29So here's a whole bunch of bits and pieces they've been taken from those e-cigarettes.
34:35I don't expect to find this much stuff in my first locker.
34:42You'll have deputies walking back here.
34:44You have very slick pickpocketers that will pickpocket their pins.
34:48They can pose a serious threat.
34:51Weapons.
34:52You know what's there?
34:54They'll cheek these whenever we give them to them and then just pop them back out once they try to
34:59go back up in the dormitory.
35:00They get all types of stuff back here from Klonopin to melatonin.
35:05Some people get antipsychotics.
35:10Well, Warden, we found something.
35:14We got some screw bolts.
35:17The bolts could be the screws mentioned in the anonymous inmate letter.
35:22They'll pry anything off that they can to try to make a shank out of just about,
35:26or just to try to make something to shank somebody with.
35:35What the hell?
35:37I found this wrapped up.
35:39While searching the rest of B Block, officers uncover multiple possible shanks.
35:46So here we have a shank found underneath one of the cabinets in one of the dormitories back here.
35:52You know, it's easy to conceal, quick stab.
35:55If your hands are small enough, you can easily get it back all the way over to here.
35:59Turn it into a grip, come up behind somebody.
36:02That's it.
36:04That's the other shank.
36:05What we have here is an insulin needle taped onto a toothbrush handle.
36:11And depending on the mood of the day, it can either be a homemade tattoo device, a homemade weapon, and
36:16this poses a great, great risk to offenders and workers alike.
36:20All right.
36:21Y'all ready?
36:22Yes, sir.
36:24Grab the trays, grab whatever y'all found, and let's roll out.
36:28Yes, sir.
36:29We searched the block and found a contraband weapon and some screws.
36:33It's our job to prevent them from having those things.
36:36I would say that was pretty successful.
36:38All right. Good deal.
36:40We need to cover a lot of stuff.
36:43We got those shanks.
36:45So are you able to sort of pin this down on a specific person?
36:48Is somebody going to get charges for this?
36:50Based on where they're sleeping, yeah, we can.
36:54We're going to try.
37:02All right.
37:04You all right?
37:05Yes, sir.
37:07We'll just walk out here in the back.
37:09I mean, there's nothing really to film right now except the sinking of the facility into the river.
37:16So you see that most of the building is raised up.
37:19The Boca Chita River is right behind us.
37:21So you can see the problems that are presented here by the concrete all cracking apart.
37:26All that movement is happening underneath the building as well.
37:30You know, we're slowly sinking into the river.
37:34You know, our facility's got issues with its location.
37:37It's got issues with its operational capacity.
37:41It's got issues with its design.
37:43We can solve all those problems with a bigger facility and a new place.
37:48You know, ours was built in 83.
37:51If you look at a modern design, they will incorporate outdoor space into the day room.
37:58Our facility just doesn't allow for that.
38:01You've got to get out in the sunshine.
38:12We need you to take care of yourself because if you're a little bit healthier, you're going to behave better.
38:17It's going to be safer for you.
38:19It's going to be safe for the correctional officers and the deputies.
38:21And it's about just giving them an opportunity to burn off some stress.
38:24Yo, Jared, how's the NBA, man?
38:26I don't play basketball.
38:28They're the ball player, you know?
38:30When was the last time you guys had yard?
38:31We usually go out once every like three, four months.
38:34But for some reason, they've been taking us out every week.
38:36They've been showing us a little love, you know?
38:39It make us feel better because we ain't trapped in the dorm every day.
38:42We want to see sunlight when we go to court, and that's like every five months.
38:45So you would have been in the dorm five months without seeing the outside world.
38:48If we can go outside once a week, that's nice.
38:52I probably wouldn't have been outside like 15 times since I've been here in four years.
38:58If you keep a lot of men in the dorm for a long period of time without going outside,
39:02it'll cause confusion to you.
39:03Everybody's crystal.
39:04It'll be fights.
39:06You know?
39:06Anything can happen.
39:10They're showing that they care about us now, you know?
39:13At first, we felt like they ain't killed.
39:14But now we feel like we got somebody in control where they actually care about us
39:18and treat us like humans, you know?
39:27All right, each family is going to go to their own bench.
39:30When they do come out, you're allowed to give them a hug and a kiss.
39:34No other contact besides that.
39:36You let them sit on the other side of the bench, okay?
39:37Okay.
39:38This is our first visitation in years.
39:41The warden's just now starting it again.
39:44This is my daughter's graduation.
39:46It's going to hurt enough.
39:51But I'm glad I get to see my mom today, because that's my best friend.
40:01How are you doing?
40:03Hey, Mom.
40:07Hey.
40:11Hey, Mom.
40:12Here.
40:12Get more of your seat.
40:16You gotta sit on there.
40:19Somebody who did your hair, one of the roommates did your hair.
40:25And I bet you told her, my mom always aggravated me to do my hair like this.
40:30I was telling one of the girls in Moga Lusa yesterday.
40:35I said, girl, when we get out, I have to have my mom do the spiderweb thing and our hair
40:40together.
40:40We get matching outfits, go to the mall.
40:47There's a certain amount of enjoyment that comes when you know that you're starting to make some headway,
40:52when people are starting to buy in, when you feel people starting to understand,
40:55oh, this is what he was talking about. Oh, this is what's possible.
40:59Oh, this is what we're trying to do. And I think we're starting to see some of that.
41:04Come stand up here for us.
41:05Seven, five, five.
41:11Now you can turn the face that way.
41:17I'm sorry, Dromfield, just in case you ever hear my voice again.
41:20Yeah, I remember you. I didn't hear you before.
41:23Yeah, I remember your name.
41:25All right, ma'am.
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