Kids Behind Bars | National Geographic
-
0:01 - 0:04- [Narrator] Ark Valley
is home to 1,000 inmates, -
0:04 - 0:07half of whom are violent offenders.
-
0:11 - 0:16A few are juveniles, like
17 year old Lorenzo Chavez, -
0:16 - 0:18who has just arrived.
-
0:18 - 0:20- I'd rather be in YOS.
-
0:20 - 0:23From what I heard there's
more beneficial things -
0:23 - 0:25at YOS for young offenders.
-
0:26 - 0:28- [Narrator] But because
of the nature of his crime, -
0:28 - 0:32Chavez wasn't eligible for YOS.
-
0:32 - 0:34- I never thought I'd be here at 17,
-
0:34 - 0:35in an adult prison.
-
0:35 - 0:39It's just not a good environment to be in.
-
0:41 - 0:43I have 19 more years to go.
-
0:43 - 0:45I kinda try not to think about it,
-
0:45 - 0:47'cause it does get depressing if
-
0:47 - 0:49I think about how much time I got.
-
0:52 - 0:53- [Narrator] Chavez has been in and out of
-
0:53 - 0:55correction since he was 10.
-
0:55 - 0:59As a teen, he was dealing
coke and heroin in Denver. -
0:59 - 1:02At 16, he was convicted
of second degree murder, -
1:02 - 1:06the result of a drug deal gone bad.
-
1:06 - 1:09(ominous music)
-
1:11 - 1:13But this is the big house.
-
1:13 - 1:17Here, he has to constantly
look over his shoulder. -
1:20 - 1:22- You really gotta watch yourself and
-
1:22 - 1:25what you say around people and whatcha do.
-
1:25 - 1:27It just makes me stay on my toes and
-
1:27 - 1:30makes me watch my every move.
-
1:33 - 1:36- [Narrator] To survive in
prison, Chavez will have -
1:36 - 1:40to find inmates he can ally
himself with for protection. -
1:40 - 1:43But it's hard to know who he can trust.
-
1:48 - 1:50- If you can't feel the
pressure then get out. -
1:50 - 1:52If you can't take the pressure get off.
-
1:52 - 1:55- I seen somebody get beat up here.
-
1:55 - 1:58Seen a couple of people
dragged out in handcuffs -
1:58 - 2:00and dogs brought through.
-
2:01 - 2:05There's a million ways to
get in trouble, and more. -
2:06 - 2:09- [Narrator] If he's lucky,
one of the lifers will -
2:09 - 2:12show him how to keep other
inmates from preying on him. -
2:12 - 2:15A lifer like Eric Davis.
-
2:15 - 2:19- He's just a kid, lost in a man's world.
-
2:19 - 2:21- [Narrator] Eric Davis
was given a life sentence -
2:21 - 2:24for first degree murder and armed robbery
-
2:24 - 2:26when he was just 18.
-
2:26 - 2:30He says predators were waiting
to take advantage of him. -
2:30 - 2:32- Whether it's tricking you out of money,
-
2:32 - 2:34or pressuring you for sexual favors,
-
2:34 - 2:38probably was in 25
fights in the first year -
2:38 - 2:39that I was in prison.
-
2:39 - 2:41There's no one here to protect you.
-
2:41 - 2:43Staff won't protect you and
other inmates don't protect you. -
2:43 - 2:46You have to take care of yourself.
-
2:46 - 2:49- [Narrator] Younger inmates
who are physically smaller -
2:49 - 2:51and more easily intimidated
can have a hard time -
2:51 - 2:54figuring out how to survive.
-
2:54 - 2:56- And you're a boy,
taking care of yourself -
2:56 - 3:00in a pod full of a bunch
of men is unfathomable. -
3:02 - 3:05Because none of the rules
make any sense in here. -
3:05 - 3:07- [Narrator] Cross the wrong inmate,
-
3:07 - 3:10and the results are fast and violent.
-
3:10 - 3:13- It's full on brutal violence.
-
3:13 - 3:16Guys trying to kill other guys
-
3:16 - 3:19in the purest ways, y'know
they're face to face and -
3:19 - 3:24it's ugly and it's mean and
there's no one to stop them. -
3:24 - 3:26- [Narrator] Davis says
he has to stay away from -
3:26 - 3:30young felons like Chavez, who
other inmates may victimize. -
3:30 - 3:33- That's trouble for
me, all the way around. -
3:33 - 3:36I can't befriend him, because then I
-
3:36 - 3:39stand between him and the knife.
-
3:39 - 3:42- [Narrator] After having served 22 years,
-
3:42 - 3:43Davis thinks adult prison is the
-
3:43 - 3:46wrong place for Lorenzo Chavez.
-
3:47 - 3:50- Throwing him in prison
to make him a bigger, -
3:50 - 3:54stronger, convict or a
bigger, stronger, predator, -
3:54 - 3:58or a victim to be taken and
turned into a monster maybe. -
4:00 - 4:02Makes no sense.
- Title:
- Kids Behind Bars | National Geographic
- Description:
-
This young convict was sent to an adult facility, leaving him alone in a sea of predators and violent offenders.
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Kids Behind Bars | National Geographic
https://youtu.be/DII1uVbf83UNational Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/natgeo - Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 04:03
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Andi Rosario edited English subtitles for Kids Behind Bars | National Geographic |