(upbeat holiday music)
- I would normally say "American Greed" guy
should be like over here.
You know, Ponzi scheme.
- I don't know.
(guests chatter)
- Who said Ponzi scheme?
- You look like a Ponzi scheme.
- That's awful.
(bright music)
(gates clanking)
- Oh, she look like a baby.
(Jessica laughs)
- So I think she probably did the least time.
So I think you should be there.
- Yeah, I would think her too.
- Yeah, like you just took your braces off last week.
- And then I think he did the most time.
- Yeah.
- In my opinion.
- I think so too.
- My boss vibes, yeah.
- Yeah, all right.
- Yeah, I agree.
- Yeah, I would put you in the middle somewhere.
- Like you was a second.
Like you'd been locked up
since you was twelve.
I don't mean to judge you,
but I think you over there bro.
- I feel like I should at least switch with you.
- I think she should be at the end.
'Cause I think she's just trying to trick her spot.
- I kind of think you should be at the end,
I have a feeling.
I'm not sure why.
I would switch you two.
- I don't know. I don't know.
- Are you projecting?
- Projecting?
- No, I feel like you just trying to.
(guests chatter)
- Yes, definitely, I would switch you guys.
Yes I would.
- I think me and him should switch.
- I'll go back over here then.
- I'll go back over there then.
- I think we're off by a lot.
I mean, we can't really tell.
- No, no.
This dude might have done a stretch,
the way he talking.
- This one?
- Yeah. Some, some.
- He doesn't give any criminal vibes.
- Man, you know more like some,
some other mafia type (beep).
- But he ain't got enough tattoos for that.
- I don't know what he's hiding underneath that long sleeve.
- Exactly
- Right.
- Maybe you roll your sleeves up?
Do you have any tattoos?
Do you have no tattoos?
No stereotypes, but most of the, you know,
Asian culture tattoos be on their back.
- I feel like maybe me and her need to switch.
'Cause she talking like she been around.
- Probably. So is that a yard tattoo?
- Um, first of all, no.
- Did anyone do, was it federal or state time?
- State.
- What about you?
- Federal time.
- Oh yeah, I know, you got time.
- White collar.
- White collar crime.
- Yeah, I know you did some time.
- 'American Greed.'
- How long we been out?
- Right.
- Ooh, that's a good question.
- Fourteen years.
- Fourteen. Wow.
- My daughter's thirteen, ah, twelve, so twelve years.
- Ten years.
- I've been out two years.
- Seven.
- Six.
- Right, I wanna know what time
you guys wake up every morning.
- 7:00.
- 5:30.
- Six o'clock
- Between 4:30 and 5:00 o'clock.
(rooster crows)
- You guys, are early birds.
- How about you?
- At 10:00, every day.
- At 10:00.
- Ten?
- No time to wake yourself (mumbles).
- I wanna move you down here though.
- I'm cool with that.
- Over to the right spot.
- Yeah. Put you right here.
- You wake up at 7:00?
- I wake up at 6:00.
- Didn't you say seven?
- No, six.
I'm not alone.
- You say you just got out two years ago?
- Yeah, two years ago.
- How old are you?
- 32.
- 32. Oh yeah.
You probably should be right here.
- He really wants to go outta that spot.
- What was your biggest pet peeve inside?
- Snitches.
- New prisoners running to, to staff.
And not understanding that
maybe out here you've got a law enforcement,
but it's not the best move while in custody.
- Exactly.
- Since I'm the only girl, girlfriend drama.
It was crazy.
- I can see that.
- I've seen, I've seen some stuff.
- I can see that.
- I mean we gotta work out every day.
It's mandatory, you know.
So some people like to slack off,
and I didn't like that.
You need everybody to be on top shape.
You know what I mean?
- They should do it.
- 'Cause at any second, anything could go down.
- For me, I, I, I didn't do any drugs
or anything like that,
but being able to go to exercise and run,
that, that was great.
That was better than any drug that I could take.
- We know you didn't do drugs.
(guests chattering)
- Know what CRT is, right?
- The tactical team.
- Yeah. You already know you that.
- Yeah, they come get that (beep).
- Yeah. So like what was that for you guys?
Like, especially your first time experiencing that,
and when you know they're coming for your,
your, your, your cell,
or your dorm particularly?
- For me it's like man,
I just don't want go through,
just cleaning up everything again.
You have food still there
- Damn straight.
- There's like the waters.
- That's the worst.
- The juices, whatever.
- Straight up.
- And you just gotta clean up.
- So, if cleanup was your biggest concern?
- Yeah.
- I feel like you're in the right spot.
I was the contraband queen,
so I'm gonna go to solitary for sure.
- Yeah.
- So you should move.
I don't know
- You still think that I should still be here?
- You here.
Scooch down.
- Yeah.
- The guards are probably the biggest assholes,
bigger than they are on the streets.
- The police.
- The sheriffs, right?
- Yeah, exactly.
- Yeah, most definitely.
- I remember one time I was on lockdown,
I was in what they called the hole.
So we, we were supposed to get a shower at least once a day.
I remember they came and we hadn't had showers
for like three, four days.
My celly next door,
they took him first.
He was gone for about three hours.
It don't take that long to take a shower.
So when he finally came back we asked him,
'Man, why you was gone so long?'
He said, 'Man, do not go take a shower.
They left me in there for three hours,
sitting on that cold-ass bench, naked.'
And he's bamming on the door like,
Let me out, let me out.
And they open the door, they say,
If you hit, if you knock, on this door one more time,
we gonna come in there and (beep) you up.
- Yeah man, they're on a power trip.
- They did that to me too.
I was standing in the shower for hours.
- Like seriously they meant it
- he knew they meant it.
You know, in there the prison guards really mistreat you.
They wanna make sure to tear you down
in front of the others.
- How much solitary time has everyone served?
- I went in the hole for 60 days, straight.
- The most at one time, for me, is 90.
- I never went to the hole, unfortunately.
- No, I was at my best behavior.
I was trying to get out.
Her should be in the middle.
- I think she definitely should be at least here.
- I think you should be next to me.
- Feel like you should be, yeah.
- Yeah, I do too.
- And you seem like you just been
thugging since been thugging.
- I been in and out a lot.
The system has been good to me, you know?
- The system has been good to me?
That red flag.
- [Host] Yeah, speaking of that,
does everyone feel like
the prison system's adequate in reforming?
- You look, is prison working?
Statistics are so clear about how many people go in,
go out and then go right back in.
So recidivism rates in this country are atrocious.
You hit the other side,
and you're not ready,
and then you have these whole problems
of banking, and housing, and employment.
It's easier in some cases to just go back.
The re-entry.
The training must begin in prison
to help people in custody prepare
for the hardest part,
which is coming home
with a sullied reputation
and a felony record.
- I think the programs that they offer helps a lot
but like I think we can all agree on this that it's
on the person, on the individual.
- Yeah.
- If they want to get something from that.
Because a lot of people go in there
and they just go through the motions.
And they'll complete the program.
But soon as they get out.
It's right back to whatever put 'em
in there the first time.
Being an African American male
and being raised in what they call the hood,
South Central L.A.
You're bound to go down that,
that bad road.
- Anger helped me break the cycle of going back
and using drugs
and all the stuff that I did.
I was mad.
I was really pissed off
that I was treated horribly.
And chained to a bed for two days
after I gave birth to my first daughter.
- Right.
- I used that as motivation
to, to never go back
and completely retire.
And be a mom.
I was going to talk about it.
And share my story.
And let people know just how bad it is.
I was in facilities
that didn't wanna give women tampons.
And I was not believed about pain.
It is a very dehumanizing thing
and some of it is very petty.
They do it because they can.
- Let me ask you guys this.
This is a good question.
Like sometimes you can get
just the little things
in prison.
Made you have like you had some sense
of humanity just like
being able to wear your own shoes.
To me that was a big plus
from being in the county.
- Yeah.
- And where you were so restricted
to not really have being able
to do none of that.
- Yeah, I mean one thing for me,
like the visits.
I really enjoy seeing my family.
So in prison you could hug them,
you could see them meet with them.
Whereas in county it's like through the glass
and you're like man,
only 20 minutes
or even 15 for some places.
- I think you should come back over here.
(guests laugh)
(Mario mumbles)
- You know the good thing
about doing time is that your,
(police siren)
Your traffic tickets go away.
You sign a form.
(guests laugh)
- Now, I think you need to come over here.
- That must be some L.A. stuff.
- You still got your same problem.
- I think you should come down.
Scooch down.
- Are we going to switch?
Are you okay with that?
All right.
- And I think for me the opportunities were there.
To take the classes to better yourself.
But as far as like the treatment goes,
no, because like the officers are very indifferent
so they, they don't treat you like a human being.
You can't really have a conversation with them or any staff.
They look at you as less than.
So I felt very dehumanized.
- That's the whole point.
The whole point of that.
- Okay
Y'all should switch.
- I feel like you should be over here.
- You know, I really,
I really finessed the situation when I was in there.
I know how to work a person.
You know what I'm saying?
My favorite subject is psychology.
- You see everyone serves time differently.
I didn't do any finessing.
I was stunned at how many people didn't do their job.
- It seemed like you shouldn't even been in prison.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- It seemed like you got caught in a family scheme
and then they threw you under the bus.
- A little pyramid scheme.
- That's what it was.
Your family caught you up
'cause you just too polished.
I can tell.
- I think my mans should be right here
'cause he been talking about some in and out.
- I, I know he don't work.
- And that he don't work in and out.
- In-N-Out or in the prison?
- He wasn't talking about the burger place.
when he say In-N-Out.
- I would normally say American Greed guy should
be like over here.
Like you know, Ponzi scheme.
I don't know.
Yeah, 85%.
- You gonna do most of the time.
- I mean the Ponzi scheme.
- Who said Ponzi scheme?
- You look like a Ponzi scheme.
- That's awful.
- I'm not judging you.
- We were doing so well.
- Everyone's been in and out.
(guests chatter)
- If nothing else, just like you said.
Think about it.
- Is this the final verdict? Right?
- Fed time.
- 85%.
- Fed time, you're going do 80%
or more.
- I don't think you're number one.
- No, I don't think I am either.
- I would actually maybe switch you to a two.
- Yeah, I would too.
- Yeah.
- Okay. Okay.
- Yeah, I like that.
- I agree with that.
(calm synth-pop music)
- [Host] For the sixth spot, we have Mario.
- I told you.
- Wow. I knew it.
- Tell you much.
Are you so serious?
- [Host] In the fifth spot we have Nick at one year.
In the fourth spot we have Justin
at one year and 22 days.
- In the Fed's?
Really?
- Wow.
- You should be happy for me.
It could have been worse.
- Yeah, I am for you.
For real.
Congratulations.
- [Host] In the third spot we have Tyrone at three years.
- Okay. Oh don't tell me you the bad ass (beep)?
- I'm not though.
- [Host] In the second spot we have Jessica at five years.
- Oh, yeah.
Really?
- Wow.
- Let me know.
(Nicholas mumbles).
- Nail salon?
- [Host] In the first spot,
Justin C. At about 14 Years.
- Damn. My Boy.
- Wow.
- Whoa.
- I just didn't get that vibe from him.
- I feel like I don't carry myself
in a way
where I'm like a tough guy.
- You don't even look at him.
- Thank you.
- All right, so I was on probation for sales.
And then I got caught with weed again.
You see back in the days weed was,
you'll get it from somebody's house, you know, or a corner.
But now you got shops everywhere.
So I got locked up for marijuana.
Like plain and simple.
- I was a drug dealer.
I was transporting narcotics
across state lines.
Look and behold I was part of a sting operation.
Didn't know it.
They was surveilling me for like a couple,
like three days.
I plead guilty to 18 months 'cause it was my first charge.
I was in a racist state
and my judge clearly looked
at me and told me, 'I'm gonna make an example outta you
so I'm gonna send you to prison.'
- So I pled guilty to a white collar crime.
One count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
I was a money manager in Century City at Bear Stearns
and then UBS.
And many years into my career our team learned
that a client of ours who managed a hedge fund
was lying to his investors.
Once we learned that he was lying
rather than stop the fraud,
we turned the other way.
In part, 'cause he was paying our company
100,000 dollars a month,
every single month.
And all of us had grown somewhat addicted
to the commissions.
Of course, I always knew
that it was wrong.
And I was certainly deserved to be held accountable.
- My conviction was robbery and possession
of stolen property.
'Cause I was in gangs.
I was a crip originally sentenced to seven.
I had a good pd,
public defender, that was like you would think
that she was a paid attorney
the way she fought for me.
And ended up doing three and a half.
- My convictions are possession with intent,
delivery of meth and simultaneous possession
of drugs and a firearm.
And I was sentenced to five years in Arkansas.
But I also served some other time
'cause I was a drug addict.
So I have criminal sales
of a controlled substance and assault as well.
- So I went in for first degree murder, attempted murder,
gang related drive-by shooting.
Something that I'm very remorseful for.
Because I was born in Korea.
I'm still dealing with the,
the collateral consequences of it.
That I am facing deportation, that I could literally
be deported any day.
So right now I am pardoning
or campaigning for my pardon
with the governor of California.
I do believe that I was rightly sentenced
to 82 years to life.
My sentence was commuted by the governor down
to 15 years to life.
based on my good behavior.
I went in young, I turned away from the gangs,
got my GED,
my college degrees.
So I'm just trying to create a different narrative.
And that's the reason why I came on here
because you know, people do change.
People are not the horrible choice they made
as a, as a teenager.
- I'm like you.
(Jessica mumbles)
- [Host] How old are you When you were sentenced?
- I was 16?
- Your story.
- You see, like this goes to show a lot,
like if I see anyone of you guys on the street
maybe I'll think I'm the bad one.
- But I would think it was you.
- And maybe me.
(guests chatter)
- A lot of times I do sense the fear
in people when I'm next to them.
But a lot of people that have done
like some of the worst crimes don't look like me.
- No, don't judge no one.
For real.
- Really, I think anyone that's been
to prison has to work to try to change that narrative.
Or else everyone in this room is going to set the narrative
of how you perceive people who went to prison.
- That's what we're all are here for.
Just to learn from our mistakes
and become better than what we were yesterday.