National Geographic Channel GoesOn Lockdown Revealing Covert Rules, Violent Clashes And Secret Codes Of Justice Within America’s Prisons
Go Inside Three Maximum-Security Prisons, Including a Violent Women’s Penitentiary and a New High-Tech Penal Complex, for a Glimpse Into Life Behind Bars
"It is possible that any man that walks in [the prison]... could be murdered... it just depends on who he crosses." Maximum-security officer
A cement-and-barbed wire door slams behind you. You are stripped of your possessions and clothes. Officers search your entire body, inside and out, for weapons. You are thrown in with thousands of violent inmates who have been locked up for years for unthinkable acts. Welcome to one of the most frightening and secret cultures in America our prisons.
LOCKDOWN, one of the highest rated miniseries for the National Geographic Channel (NGC), returns for a new three-hour installment on Sunday, February 11, 2007, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT. This special night takes viewers inside the closed world of three maximum-security U.S. prisons to observe violent clashes, covert rules and secret codes of justice.
Starting with a special encore presentation of LOCKDOWN: GANG WAR at 8 p.m. ET/PT, hear firsthand accounts from inmates and correctional officers in a prison where gang leaders have the upper hand and call the shots. At 9 p.m. ET/PT with LOCKDOWN: WOMEN BEHIND BARS, NGC takes viewers inside a penal complex that has all the hallmarks of a maximum-security prison violent inmates, overcrowding and a drug trade but a unique population: It houses all women. Finally, at 10 p.m. ET/PT with LOCKDOWN: TOTAL CONTROL, go inside a new high-tech maximum-security prison that houses men so dangerous that they must be locked down 23 hours a day, and see how the entire facility has been specially designed to be "escape free" by building the same security fence Israel put up in the West Bank.
The three-hour special Lockdown night includes the following one-hour episodes:
LOCKDOWN: GANG WAR
Sunday, February 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (Special Encore Presentation)
NGC takes you inside one of the United States most violent and dangerous maximum-security prisons Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, Calif. With nearly 200 gang-related attacks each year, overcrowded conditions have increased tensions for both officers and inmates. Hear firsthand how fights, stabbings and murders are organized by gang leaders and how outnumbered officers can easily be at the mercy of a gang war. "We have control of everything that happens in the prison," says a former gang member who currently is serving life for murder. Gang War also explores how officers deploy precautionary tactics ranging from unannounced middle-of-the-night raids to searching each inmate by hand for weapons in the outdoor yard.
LOCKDOWN: WOMEN BEHIND BARS
Sunday, February 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT (World Premiere)
With 3,900 violent female offenders, Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, Calif., is one of the largest and most dangerous women’s prisons in the nation. Last year, the prison recorded its first inmate murder, demonstrating that women can be every bit as violent as men. With female inmates becoming one of the fastest growing segments of California’s prison population, officers are searching for ways to stop the drug trade and reduce violence. With violent incidents on the rise, officials and inmates have taken proactive precautions, including staff constantly wearing stab-proof vests and Kevlar gloves and carrying pepper spray cans and batons; and inmates becoming creative when arming themselves for possible attacks by crafting homemade weapons from materials like screws and lighters. Hear firsthand accounts of pregnant inmates, murderers and drug addicts as they navigate through this dangerous world.
LOCKDOWN: TOTAL CONTROL
Sunday, February 11, at 10 p.m. ET/PT (World Premiere)
Go inside one of the newest high-tech maximum-security prisons in the United States Alexander Correctional Institution in Taylorsville, N.C. In this prison, which has earned the nickname "hell" from inmates, see how officers use sophisticated technology and unconventional methods to keep a "choke hold" on its violent prisoners. NGC uncovers the secrets behind this penitentiary by showing viewers how this correctional institution has been specifically built to prevent any kind of inmate escape attempts, from heavily armed guards who circle the prison 24 hours a day in perimeter patrol vehicles (PPVs) to computers and cameras that can pinpoint within seconds the exact location of an escapee. Learn how officials uncover a drug ring that threatens to undermine prison security and could possibly tip the balance of control between officers and inmates. And see how officers try to prevent rapes, stabbings and prison riots by using a range of disciplinary actions, including creating a rating scale for each inmate based on their gang affiliation and issuing fines for the smallest infractions.
For more information, visit http://www.ngclockdown.com/
