American Crimes

A heroin addict must choose between the lifestyle she craves and the young son she has left behind; another seasoned female inmate is transferred back to the jail from state prison, but she suddenly finds herself on the wrong end of a fist.

Up-close and personal with transgender inmates, and inmates with dreams of stardom.

Producers take the time to get to know dozens of inmates, following the action and watching the story unfold in from of their eyes.

Grantt Culliver, warden of one of Alabama's toughest prisons, Holman Correctional Facility, doesn't miss a beat in getting into a disruptive inmate's face, but he's also compassionate and gentle when the situation calls for it.

Of the nearly 1,000 inmates at Holman, the 200 most dangerous must be segregated from the rest; Bobby Gilbert, or "Snake", has spent 19 of his 43 years in the solitary confinement of Ad Seg. because of his violent behavior.

Extractions provide some of the most dramatic interactions that ever occur between inmates and staff, and few extractions in the state of Colorado have provided more drama than the ones involving Roy Slagle.

One reality of prison is that there's never a shortage of pain, and at the Limon Correctional Facility in Colorado, there's enough left over for the visitors as well; drama unfolds as a father and son try to reconcile a violent past.

Even for inmates serving hard time, love can be a strong motivator; in prison, reaching out to others can be a dicey proposition; some inmates just don't know when someone's getting too close until it's too late.

An inmate finds himself at the center of more than one battle, and he traces his problems back to the real-life nightmare that haunts his family; a young new arrival faces a charge of reckless homicide.

A young woman finds love in the jail's one co-ed housing unit; another inmate, charged with a spree of armed robberies, now comes under investigation inside the jail; a father speaks for his son, who if found guilty, could face the death penalty.

The survivor of a vicious attack shares his story in the hopes that other inmates will never commit such violence; for another inmate, it's too late to turn back the clock and now the pain of incarceration has begun to take a toll.

An agitated inmate takes severe measures to get staff's attention; a young first-timer is found unconscious in his cell; another inmate garners "enemy status" within the jail.

The jail's Special Operations Group is called in to deal with a difficult inmate; a well-known inmate returns to jail, but this time, he's in with his girlfriend, who might be harboring a secret that could dramatically affect both their lives.

A fight breaks out over snacks but officers want to know if there was something else behind it; an open transgender inmate, who "escorts" on the street, chooses general population over protective custody; an inmate is found dead in his bunk.

Extractions provide some of the most dramatic interactions that ever occur between inmates and staff, and few extractions in the state of Colorado have provided more drama than the ones involving Roy Slagle.

One reality of prison is that there's never a shortage of pain, and at the Limon Correctional Facility in Colorado, there's enough left over for the visitors as well; drama unfolds as a father and son try to reconcile a violent past.

Even for inmates serving hard time, love can be a strong motivator; in prison, reaching out to others can be a dicey proposition; some inmates just don't know when someone's getting too close until it's too late.

An inmate finds himself at the center of more than one battle, and he traces his problems back to the real-life nightmare that haunts his family; a young new arrival faces a charge of reckless homicide.

A young woman finds love in the jail's one co-ed housing unit; another inmate, charged with a spree of armed robberies, now comes under investigation inside the jail; a father speaks for his son, who if found guilty, could face the death penalty.

The survivor of a vicious attack shares his story in the hopes that other inmates will never commit such violence; for another inmate, it's too late to turn back the clock and now the pain of incarceration has begun to take a toll.

An agitated inmate takes severe measures to get staff's attention; a young first-timer is found unconscious in his cell; another inmate garners "enemy status" within the jail.

The jail's Special Operations Group is called in to deal with a difficult inmate; a well-known inmate returns to jail, but this time, he's in with his girlfriend, who might be harboring a secret that could dramatically affect both their lives.

A fight breaks out over snacks but officers want to know if there was something else behind it; an open transgender inmate, who "escorts" on the street, chooses general population over protective custody; an inmate is found dead in his bunk.

Extractions provide some of the most dramatic interactions that ever occur between inmates and staff, and few extractions in the state of Colorado have provided more drama than the ones involving Roy Slagle.

One reality of prison is that there's never a shortage of pain, and at the Limon Correctional Facility in Colorado, there's enough left over for the visitors as well; drama unfolds as a father and son try to reconcile a violent past.

Even for inmates serving hard time, love can be a strong motivator; in prison, reaching out to others can be a dicey proposition; some inmates just don't know when someone's getting too close until it's too late.

An inmate finds himself at the center of more than one battle, and he traces his problems back to the real-life nightmare that haunts his family; a young new arrival faces a charge of reckless homicide.

A young woman finds love in the jail's one co-ed housing unit; another inmate, charged with a spree of armed robberies, now comes under investigation inside the jail; a father speaks for his son, who if found guilty, could face the death penalty.