>> while boston, massachusetts, maintains its colonial past, it's also ranked as one of the world's leading metropolitan areas for education and innovation. in the heart of downtown, however, is a reminder that not every one of its residents is on the right track. >> there are, especially at the county level, very significant portion of our population of people who simply can't get out of their own way. mostly they are self-destructive but they commit crimes and hurt people in the process but their lives can be different and there can be a change made. >> the suffolk county jail is often a first stop for bostonians who find themselves under arrest. male inmates awaiting trial and who have yet to make bail are detained at this facility where the daily population averages about 700. if they have been convicted of a crime and are sentenced to less than 2 1/2 years, most will transfer to the nearby house of correction, which averages 1,700 inmates. while their charges vary, nearly all of them will need to confront the truths of their pasts if they hope to avoid coming back. >> it may be a history of abuse, neglect, lack of education, lack of job history, substance abusish abuse issues, you name it. >> but there's another issue that is also bringing more people to jail. not only in boston but nationwide. >> the percentages of mental illness is off the charts. they are shocking. it's much harder once people begin to get older to tackle those deficits that have been growing and growing and growing over a period of time. >> though he was deemed competent enough to understand his charges and face trial, a lifelong mental illness is a realty for corey allen. he is serving a 2 1/2 year sentence for an array of crimes. because he is now on medication, jail officials confirmed he was stable enough to consent to an interview. >> i'm here for armed robbery, possession of firearm, assault and battery, intimidating a witness, aggravated assault. that's it. >> straight from the bloody bean. you know what i mean, she's -- get clapped up, slapped up, straight from the bloody bean, you know what i mean. it's all ferocious, guns down in token. >> i couldn't let something go from the past. i had to get revenge, it just happened to be on my birthday that i allegedly picked up this case, you know what i'm saying? rival enemies. a guy with the car, seeing someone, you know, starting shooting at each other and it escalated back and forth, you know what i'm saying? follow the person to the house and that's when the assault and battery and the armed robbery transpired at. >> corey's lengthy criminal record has kept him in jail for most of his adult life. >> every time i got out for a short period of time, six months here, two months there, i was out for 30 days before i picked up my next stay. i had what i thought was a a jagt jobstraight job, selling marijuana to the community. >> what did you think was a straight job? >> distributing to the community. selling marijuana to the community. >> corey's idea of a straight job is not the only unusual aspect of his life. he also has an imaginary companion he calls jimmy. >> jimmy's a dog. a bright dog. you know what i'm saying? he don't have a whole body. he just got a head. he used to bark like that. he used to bark. you know what i'm saying? i didn't know where the bark was coming from so one day i sat there and he talked. so i started talking to him, too. you know what i'm saying? he's my friend. you know? >> corey says he has leaned on jimmy since childhood. the relationship has managed to bring him comfort while also putting him in precarious situations. >> jimmy comes out when i'm aggravated, or if i get into the bay, someone be like step the [ bleep ] in your cell, jimmy will be like tell him to get [ bleep ]. i get in the mirror and talk to him and say that was f'd up, you know what i'm saying? we know the guy disrespected you. keep going through it in the mirror, you know what i'm saying? we constantly argue and at the end of the day i still love jimmy. jimmy been with me all my life. i'm used to him and i want him. you know what i'm saying? plenty of times when i've been lonely, you know what i'm saying, hiding in the closet in foster homes, he's the one i talked to. he's not all bad. you know what i'm saying? we've made bad decisions together. >> a jail caseworker, who asked we not use her name, says corey's situation is not unique. >> i've had clients tell me that they've heard whispers, they've heard people talking, they've heard voices of their family members in their past, enemies in the past, animals, different various types of things. we never challenge their hallucinations. we always listen to them and then we try to make appropriate referrals. so if we feel like they need to see psychiatry, we make sure that happens. if they need to be medicated, we'll encourage them to consider medication and, if possible, have them see psychiatry and have them prescribed. >> in order to have corey's behavior under control, he is prescribed medication by the jail's mental health staff. >> i'm a g man. that's how i do it. medication time. about to get the medication right now. this will keep me nice, you know what i'm saying. >> right now i'm on five medications. i'm on five psych pills. this morning i took three. tonight i'll take six, you know what i'm saying? >> corey represents the type of inmate that provides a daunting challenge for jails and prisons nationwide. they show certain symptoms of mental illness, yet are incarcerated by the courts rather than hospitalized. >> mr. allen is in the general population unit. should someone be deemed incompetent, that would be through a psychiatrist and the court would deem them incompetent and you wouldn't be housed in the house of correction. you would be at bridgewater which is where our state facility is. >> though he's been ruled competent, corey has posed problems. >> he's got a very poor impulse control. when he gets ramped up, he's uncontrollable to bring down. so there are issues. sometimes he's in much more need of mental health to be seen by them and get back to a calming state. >> no touch and move. okay. you run all over that [ bleep ]. okay. it's like that? it's like that? >> it's like that. >> it's like that. >> it's like that? >> it's like that. >> while housing corey provides a challenge to correctional staff, sharing a cell with angel, a present from the streets, has made time go by a little easier for everyone. >> we've known each other for seven, eight years. he's a riot. he's a riot in here laughing all night, giggling. i don't know, it's like being on the street almost. makes your time go a little faster. barking? it drives me nuts when anybody else gets started or new year's eve, it was crazy up in here. i was trying to figure out who was barking and it was him the whole time. >> when he moved in here. >> barking got me going crazy. find out it was him. it was you? i moved in here. >> you know why he barks? >> he got issues. he got some serious issues. coming up -- >> my family is one of the most dysfunctional families that's out there. >> corey allen's sister joins him in jail after a horrifying attack. >> i just cut it and it fell on the floor. om ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology from cadillac to develop its suspension system? magnetic ride control -- pioneered by cadillac, perfected in the 556-horsepower cts-v. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. ♪ [ sighs ] [ bird chirps ] [ bird squawks ] ♪ [ bird screeching ] ♪ [ elevator bell dings ] [ sighs ] how mad is she? she kicked me out. but i took the best stuff. i'll get the wrench. ♪ [ male announcer ] kohler's tresham collection. life. with a twist. ♪ life. with a twist. like, keep one of these over your head. well, i wasn't "supposed" to need flood insurance, but i have it. fred over here chose not to have it. ♪ me, i've got a plan. fred he uh... fred what is your plan? 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[ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. for many bostonians, family traditions are not always positive. when the life of crime is echoed by generations, relatives may wind up together in the suffolk county jail. >> there was a study written about ten years ago and the study basically stated that all of the crime in boston was attributed to 300 families. i see family members, whether they are cousins, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, boston is a small city and it's tough. >> such is the case for corey allen. >> there is no other family like my family. we're all crazy. we all got up and downs. but we love each other. i love my mother, my father, my sister which is here now, and my brother that is here. my father just left here. ain't that something? >> corey's sister, melissa allen, who he calls lisa, is just a few floors above him at the house of correction where female inmates are detained while they await trial on their charges. >> when i was a little kid, i always tried to get her to play football with me. she wanted me to play hula hoop with her. hula hoop? i don't want play hula hoop. but she took care of me a lot. she made sure we eat when we didn't have food. you know what i'm saying? i just love my sister. >> while corey has tender words for his sister, life on the streets has been anything but tender for melissa. her addiction to drugs has made her no stranger to the suffolk county jail. >> i've been doing crack since -- since, i would say, i was like 24. since i was 24. i'm 37 now. it's been a long time. all this right here is where i used to do my dirty work. i would walk the street, sell drugs, do all that. a couple streets down, that's where i live. and they put me in a room, i can see everything i did. >> melissa's life on the street, which she admits involved prostitution and drug use, often put her in danger. >> if i don't have a knife, i have a razor. somewhere on me. i tie it in my hair. i can just pull it out. >> a razor. >> mm-hmm. or i'll have it in my mouth. >> melissa is currently in jail on an aggravated assault charge, to which she has pled not guilty, on grounds of self-defense. the alleged victim was a male friend. we warn you, the details of the alleged crime are disturbing. >> i gave him $100 to go upstairs to get something, to get a package. a package meaning crack. get a whole bunch of crack. he finally came downstairs and was like, where's my [ bleep ], what took you so long? he's like [ bleep ] you. [ bleep ] you? i said [ bleep ] me? really? and he went to my bra to take the rest of my money and so i squeezed him, and i was like get off me. he pushed me. he punched me. so he's real big, so i jumped on his ass. he didn't have no underwears on, he had these red shorts on and he's got big balls. so i took my knife out and just cut it. it fell on the floor. >> what? >> his balls fell on the floor. and blood was all in my face, my eyes, my hair, my dress, everywhere on the floor. i never seen no blood gush like that in my life. i must have cut a vein or something. never, ever put your hands on me. it wasn't the money because i can care less about the money because the money comes easy to me. it was the point, how he just came at me and grabbed me and then punched me, like i'm a man. but he didn't really know that i can be a man. >> if convicted, melissa could face a sentence of three to five years. but she hopes the judge will view the assault as self-defense and give her a chance at drug rehabilitation rather than prison. while she is here, melissa's contact with corey has been limited to cards and letters. they have been approved for inmate to inmate correspondence within the jail. >> oh, this is from lisa. >> that boy, he got something wrong with him upstairs. ain't nobody perfect. everybody has their little moments and stuff. that boy has one every minute, all day, every day. i don't know. i don't care what he do, what he does, i don't care. that's my baby brother and i love him. i'm always there for him. >> remember i said i was going to write her yesterday. i started. i was going to write her today. and then i'm like, no, busy day. then i received her letter. you know what i'm saying? it's just stuff like -- if it makes me feel happy, makes me feel sad, even though she forgot the "e" in my name, that's all right. because i'm corey. my family is one of the most dysfunctional families that's out here. a lot of people that meet my family loves my family, you know what i'm saying? there's something good about us, you know? >> if i get out i will send some pictures and money orders. be good. stay out the hole. i'm going to cry. i can't keep reading this. i miss her so much. >> corey and melissa's brother, william allen, is also serving time at the house of correction. he's been sentenced to a year and a half for assault and battery. >> my sister said to me one day, it must be a family curse. it must be. i meaning hard times fall on us all. well, i have a white band and a yellow band. these are symbolic to my family, my sister, and my brother, corey and lisa. i wear them to keep them close to my heart and let them know that i'm thinking about them every day. >> he loves his family. you know what i'm saying? even if you're doing bad or doing good, or he's doing bad or doing good, he put his family first. >> they're the first thing on my mind when i wake up, and the last thing on my mind when i go to sleep at night. nobody failed. we just found 10,000 ways that didn't work. basically, that's all it is. it's just we're destined for greatness, but something is stopping us from reaching who we are. maybe we're here for a reason and we haven't missed our blessing. we haven't. >> all three allen siblings have battled drug and alcohol abuse. but the pain of addiction has been a source of inspiration for william, who writes poetry. >> my name is addiction. and i'm the genie in the bottle. wherever you go, sir, i will surely follow. let me take a sip on that bottle but first be warned it's going to be the hardest thing to swallow. you're a grown man so go ahead and tip that bottle. we begin to talk, drink, walk. oh, snap, genie, here comes the cops. we became the best of friends, and the thick started to become thin, my smile went to a frown when he never came around. the last time he did, i ended up doing the bid. genie, you deceived me, no the spirit in the bottle misled you and no, my life has been stolen so i fall on bended knees, and i ask god how could this be? his only reply, it was you that left me. it's not worth it. that's all i've got to say about that. coming up -- >> it i was the leader of the gang. i had bigger guys to bring the tools in. because the tools often involved are pretty heavy. even money is heavy if you have duffle bags full of it. introducing the schwab mobile app. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you. over time, my lashes thinned. after 40, i didn't have enough lashes. i'd heard of latisse® but had questions. my doctor said... latisse® is the only fda approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough lashes. now with latisse® my lashes are longer, darker, with more than double the fullness in 16 weeks. if you are using or have used, prescription products for eye pressure problems, use latisse® under close doctor care. latisse® use may cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely permanent. eyelid skin darkening may occur which may be reversible. if you experience eye problems or have eye surgery, consult your doctor. common side effects include itchy eyes and eye redness. i trust latisse® and i use it too. my lashes changed as i got older. now i use latisse®. more than double the fullness in 16 weeks. are your lashes thinning as you get older? why wait? ask your doctor about latisse® from allergan, a company with 60 years of eye care expertise. the vast majority of suffolk county inmates are between 17 and 25 years old. so at 65, anthony peppe is an anomaly. >> the system does not discriminate from young to old or middle age or senior citizens. if you do something bad in boston, you're coming to here or maybe you're going to state prison. >> he's an old-timer. he's a hardened criminal, been in and out of institutions his whole life. he's one of those guys, he doesn't really bother anybody. he does his time, knows how to do time. >> peppe is currently serving a two-year sentence for the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm. >> i call him the dawn because of the way he walks around and he walks around like he owns the unit or thinks he owns the unit. >> part of peppe's swagger is due in part to his skill at games of strategy. in jail, the stakes can be for canteen, phone calls, or something more creative. for william allen, losing means sweating. >> you're down 77 pushups so far what would you like to play for? >> another 20. >> 20 more? okay, first move. we play for pushups on demand. i can call for these pushups at any time of the day or night, no matter where is he on this unit, or if we're in the yard or in the gym. he has to stop what he's doing and give me the pushups. >> that move, you just lost the game. >> he is a master checker player. and to think about it, out of all the people in there, he said i'm going to show you the secret to checkers. he showed me. he said don't tell nobody. not even my son knows this. and he was like, now you know. so now we a level playing field. still yet, still doing hundreds of pushups on the floor. >> and you lost again. >> how much is that? >> it was 77 so now it's 97. >> i'll take five right now. >> allen and peppe have shared more in common than checkers. both have battled addictions to drugs and alcohol and for peppe it's been a very long battle. >> my drug of choice is speed balls, which is half cocaine and half heroin, injected simultaneously. it's a very dangerous high but i feel it's the best high in the world. >> but peppe was much more than a run of the mill drug addict. >> i've been a burglar basically all my life, and banks were my favorite place, because banks have money. it's like if you want to steal a car, you go to a car wash, if you want to steal groceries, go to a supermarket and shoplift. if you want money, i think the best place for me was a bank. >> peppe has been robbing banks since the 1960s. his heists were like something out of a movie. >> i sort of was a leader of the gang. i had bigger guys to bring the tools in because the tools to open a vault are pretty heavy. even money is heavy if you have duffle bags full of it. you know, we had somebody case it, had a couple of guys to do the real heavy construction work, or destruction work. you know, the alarm specialist was the alarm specialist. once the alarm was shut off, we owned the bank. that's how i felt. and everybody with us, we used to take food in there and everything. we were hungry, you know, we have a whole bunch of sandwiches and something to drink and cigarettes. you know, just like a job. >> but in jail, peppe's job cleaning the tvs and microwaves pays just a dollar a day. >> i try to have a little american pride in these microwaves and do a great job doing them because people do eat out of them, and i won't want anybody to be sick. >> i felt that i was ahead of all of the people that worked for a living. but now i realize that i miss my life because i've been incarcerated so long. and i think the guy with the lunch bag under his hand going to work is very far ahead of me having a nice family, friends and honest living. >> but peppe has had enough time on the outside to start a family and looks forward to seeing them when he's released in two more months. >> i have a son that will be 50 years old this september coming up. my youngest -- my youngest one is 16 months. i have a set of twins, a former girlfriend. this time i have the opportunity of going home and raising a few more children while i'm there. so i don't think i want to screw up anymore. coming up -- >> just write it out. it will take an extra five seconds. it will be totally worth it. >> harvard comes to suffolk county. cory allen rejects a chance at freedom. >> i ripped my parole papers up, because i don't need them. 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[ male announcer ] humana. what if we designed an electric motorcycle? what if we turned trash into surfboards? whatever your what if is, the new sprint biz 360 has custom solutions to make it happen, including mobile payment processing, instant hot spots, and powerful devices like the motorola photon 4g. so let's all keep asking the big what ifs. sprint business specialists can help you find the answers. sprint. america's favorite 4g network. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. hello, everyone. i'm lynn berry and here is what is happening. hurricane katia has become the most powerful atlantic storm of the season. it is now a dangerous category 4 storm packing 135-mile-an-hour winds. katia is expected to brush bermuda before veering off into the open oceanch at this point, it is not expected to threaten the u.s. coastline. meanwhile, mississippi and georgia are doealing with remnants of the tropical storm lee. the high winds are blamed for at least one death. now, back the "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. doing time in boston's suffolk county jail is a world away from the colleges or ivy league university located just miles away. but once a week those two worlds intersect when students from harvard university and boston college come to the jail to help inmates earn their geds. >> for them to come in and do it for us as little convicts, i should say, that's a good thing. looking out for us. showing us, you know, there is a world out there. there is help out there. people want to help you. >> girard cohen has been teamed with alexander, a harvard sophomore. >> it's one of these things, you can do the answers in your head probably, just to be sure, because we all make mistakes and try do it in our head, just write it out. it will take five extra seconds, but it's totally worth it. if you are going to be taking the test, because each answer matters in the final score. people have a wall about what this whole community is like and that's just not true. if you work for somebody a while, you get to know them. that's one of the interesting parts of being here. >> you're very confident. >> i sure am. i know this stuff. >> i want to make you prove to me that you know this stuff on paper. >> smart. goes to harvard. he's extra smart. >> so what is that? >> people can let their defenses down in the classroom. they can admit i can't read, i can't do math. whereas, in the units, that's a lot to do. you have to protect those things. you don't want to make yourself vulnerable. in the classroom you can be vulnerable. >> to maintain a classroom environment, deputies remain outside of the room but keep watch on what is happening inside. >> i decided to do this program because i wanted to be able to learn a little more because when i do get out i can teach my son a little more than what i didn't learn in school so i can be able to help him when he gets older. tell him, you know, daddy did have a couple downfalls, but i bettered myself. >> 180 over? >> yeah, awesome. let's make sure all triangles have 180 degrees. how many are in a right triangle. 90, right? >> 90. >> i'm trying to get my ged, go to any college, go to harvard, b.c., wherever. do something better. because streets ain't really -- streets ain't where it's at. >> almost the same. >> yeah. that's a pretty good definition. >> the tutoring program is not large enough to accommodate everyone in the jail. so melissa allen has turned to another inmate, megan dooley, for help. >> you add 6 to 18, and that will give you to answer. >> i'm not embarrassed when she helps me. i sit there and listen to her because i know she's not judging me and stuff. >> i treat people how i want them to treat me. math is one of my better skills. it comes easy to me. so something that she struggles with, if that is easy for me, it won't hurt me to sit down with her for ten minutes and write out the multiplication tables. all i have here is time. why not use it for something constructive. >> 30, 40, 50 -- yes. >> melissa sees learning math as a step towards getting her life back on track after years of drug addiction and prostitution. >> monday through sunday, nonstop, every day. there's not a day that passed, every day. i look crazy and i feel like a damn fool. i can see myself out there running around looking like a damn fool. running around like [ bleep ]. probably smelled like [ bleep ]. i don't know. 37 years old. i can't do this no more. i don't want my brothers to be here. we better than that. we're the allens. we're better than that, you know? i feel like they following me, you know, because i'm the oldest. i can't do this. i have nieces and nephews that i hardly don't see. god as my witness, they let me out of here, hu-huh, i'm not coming back. i'm not. >> melissa hopes that the judge in her aggravated assault case will soon send her to drug rehab rather than prison. >> yo, what's up? all the time, east side, that's how we do it up here. >> a few floors below, her younger brother corey was just offered the opportunity to leave jail on parole. he turned it down in no uncertain terms, and will now be in jail for six more months. >> i ripped my parole papers up. i don't need them. i like it here. i want to do all my time. the time they gave me, i don't want nothing for free. i can do it. now that's gangster. you know what i'm saying? that's gangster. >> many inmates choose not to take parole because they truly know that they can not make it going back to their communities underneath the standards and guidelines that parole gives them. inmates would rather wrap up their sentence here, walk out the door, knowing they don't have somebody else watching over them. >> if i take parole, i could pick up a charge out there, now i have do parole time and do that. you let me go, whatever happens, whatever happens, it's my choice. i would rather just wrap it up. >> there is also significant benefit to corey remaining in jail. he receives psychiatric treatment and medication for mental illness. his condition has stabilized considerably. though he still maintains a near lifelong relationship with this imaginary companion, jimmy takes the form of a pitbull head. >> jimmy always around. jimmy. jimmy, jimmy. you know, me and jimmy have some interactions the last few weeks. some of it has been good. some of it has been bad. but they put me on a new med. i told them if i feel and jimmy feels that it's making me slow in any shape or form, i'm going to get off the medication because i don't like to be down. i like to be up. >> corey's decision to go off his medication not only affects him but his new cell mate, jonathan elliott, who must cope with both corey and jimmy. >> did you brush your teeth today? >> no. >> that's crazy [ bleep ]. >> i got an excuse. i was asleep. toothbrush so little. >> he's all right. hard to live with. it's just he has two personalities. it's kind of tough living in this cell. when there's three people in here, it gets really crowded and when you have four personalities in here, it's not the easiest thing in the world to deal with. >> like you perfect. >> i'm not saying i'm perfect either, but other people feel the same way. >> that's crazy. >> but i don't mind him at all. he's probably one of the best cellies i've had since i've been here. >> and what do you think, corey? what do you think about johnny? >> i love johnny even though he don't know how to keep his food in his mouth. he spits it all over me. noodles everywhere. you know, we play chess together. he looks out. i have no canteen, he looks out for me. i have coffee, i look out for him. we just get along. >> try to calm him down because i'm living in here with him. i don't want to deal with it. i'm like, hey, you want a honey bun? i mean, it's just he's a real hyper kid. coming up, one of the jail's oldest inmates is sanctioned for fighting and william allen must confront a violent past. >> you've got to be able to explain your criminal history to the person in classification. that's the only way that this is going to work. ♪ the race of your life you never ran. the trip around the world you never took. the best-selling novel you never wrote. but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. the lexus golden opportunity sales event, with exceptional values on the lexus es. but only until september 6th. see your lexus dealer. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency. with endless possibilities. there's a good reason why some inmates try to avoid trouble while serving time at the suffolk county jail in boston. for each month they don't receive a disciplinary write up they can earn good time or days off their sentences. with the good time that he's eligible to learn, 65-year-old anthony peppe's release was less than two months away. >> there's nothing better than getting out of jail. it's like such an awesome feeling. you know, i can't describe it because you have to be in prison to know what it is to be free again. a ton of bricks it off my shoulder, you know? >> but peppe has just been told he will not be earning 15 days of good time. he's been sanctioned for fighting. >> inmate peppe was down in a medium security housing unit in 121. the officer heard scuffling coming from back of the unit. as the officer approached, he looked into his cell and found that inmate peppe was breathing heavily, bending down. he noticed that the other inmate was doing same. inmate peppe alleges that he was just spoking at another inmate with his cane and the inmate attacked him. >> he knocked me out of my chair and knocked my glasses off my face, and he said that i hit him. i did not hit this man. i'm 65 years old. my back hurts all the time. i'm not rugged anymore. i don't want to fight no more. i just want to enjoy the rest of my life. i'm a lover, not a fighter. >> because the fight allegedly took place inside a cell where there's no security camera coverage, jail officials cannot determine who started it. so both peppe and the other inmate have been sent to segregation, the 23-hour lockdown unit, for a period of five weeks. >> no one to play anything with, cards, checkers. isolation is not a nice place to be. they let you out for a shower, recreation a few times a week, that's it. otherwise everything comes right to the cell. your meals are delivered here. caseworker comes by. nurse comes by. everything is delivered here. it's pretty dull. >> peppe's time in segregation might be even more stressful. he and the mother of his 16-month-old twins are having problems. >> me and my girlfriend, the babies mother, are not getting along right now. whatever she decides, i'll walk away from her. i would like to grow them up and everything, but if it's not meant to be with her, it's not meant to be with her. >> but peppe still has some hope for the future. >> i have had quite a life. really quite a life. i want to enjoy whatever life i have left, and i hope to return back to society, never do more crime and just be at peace with the world. >> now you reenter society coming straight out of jail, you found ways that didn't work, it doesn't mean that you fail. you made a living the best way you knew how, but it was just a bit more than the judge and the law could allow. coming out of jail, i couldn't put that on my resume. i understand your despair, tell them i was in prison, i was being rebuilt. i was in a state of repair. >> peppe's friend william allen, has another six months to serve on a year and a half sentence on battery and aggravated assault. his work detail helps him earn time off his sentence. >> i had the pleasure of serving on two details in the segregation unit which is the hole, and i do the tower detail, which is collecting uniforms, trash and mopping. >> allen had recently applied for early release to a halfway house but was denied by the classification director. >> all right. >> jail officials are not convinced that he has sufficiently come to terms with the violent charges that brought him to jail. >> there are some major issues in his criminal history that he needs to address and be accountable for. >> allen has asked to speak to his caseworker for advice on how to make the classification director reconsider. >> first of all, you know mr. travis, last time around, what were the questions he asked you? are you an addict, and have you addressed your violent behavior? >> i've been trying to take up medication. i've been spiritually active. as far as drinking and alcoholism, i still remain on the 12 steps daily. >> if i'm mr. travis, i'm going to tell you that's not an answer for me. that just basically -- basically what that gives me is ten pounds of bull crap in a five-pound bag. that's what that is. >> that's what i'm saying. you need to address mr. travis with facts. not like, you know, i'm going to, or i want to go to, i need to go to. you need to give him facts that says this is what i've done to make myself more productive person and to address what potentially are long-term problems for me. you have a violent criminal history. we've got to be able and you've got to be able to explain your criminal history to the person in classification. that's the only way that this is going to work for you. okay? so if i'm you right now. >> yeah. >> i'm thinking about what can i do to present myself to can i present myself to classification and show them that my criminal history is in the past. this is what i'm doing to become a more positive person. and this is the direction i need to head. >> thank you for your time. >> all right. thank you. >> all right. >> two floors above, williams' sister melissa allen is about to go to court on charges of aggravated assault. she has written the judge a letter asking to go to a drug rehabilitation program rather than prison. >> i said dear your honor, i have been thinking a lot about how i can change my ways. number one, stop using violence as an answer to everything. because in the long run it's only hurting myself and my kids. another thing i would like to change is my use of drugs. because drugs are getting me nowhere in life. your honor, jail is not helping me. so your honor, please give me another chance to get into a program. thank you and i won't disappoint you this time. coming up -- >> did you see me talking to the dude when i was beating the [ bleep ] out of him? i was doing the beating. jim my was talking. >> corey allen goes off his meds. while his brother william and his sister melissa face major i think chas themselves. one log in lets you monitor all of your balances and transfer between accounts, so your money can move as fast as you do. check out your portfolio, track the market with live updates. and execute trades anywhere and anytime the inspiration hits you. even deposit checks right from your phone. just take a picture, hit deposit and you're done. open an account today and put schwab mobile to work for you. me too. you booked our room right? not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? fret not ma'lady. i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played sir. download the free hotels.com app and get exclusive mobile deals. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. while the gal of goal of most inmates is to find a way back to the streets, corey allen recently rejected the opportunity of parole and chose to spend the roadway mander at boston house of correction. but it might not be an easy stay. he was recently involved in a brutal fight caught on a surveillance camera. >> he thought i was a punk. you know? he thought he could talk to me any way you want. not one time did he bother me that day, but twice. so i had to do what i got to do. i [ bleep ] him up. smashed him. smashed him out. >> the tape is reviewed by captain mike caldwell. >> this inmate is approaching corey allen and delivers the first blow in what turns out to be a pretty significant altercation. ultimately inmate allen gets the upper hand here and delivers what you see here as a succession of blows to the head, closed fist punches to the head and torso. >> and that happens for several seconds as the responding officers begin to arrive. >> they asked me where was the weapon. that's what they asked me. i said what weapon? they said we believe you used a weapon. i didn't use no weapon. you know what i'm saying? i just didn't play no games. >> even though corey didn't start the fight, he received two months in segregation because of past violations and having gone beyond defending himself to becoming the aggressor. since the move, he has refused his medication. >> about to swerve on something too. no! i'm about to swerve on something too. >> corey says his interactions with his imaginary friend jimmy is increasing. >> did you see me talking to the dude when i was beating the [ bleep ] out of him. when i was beating the [ bleep ] out of him, i was talking. i said i told you mother [ bleep ]. i was beating, jimmy was talking. anything i do, jimmy does too. i believe i take the medication for jimmy. he's a mother [ bleep ] right now. >> corey's brother william has also had a setback. while working his job detail he was caught entering another inmate's cell. he has now lost his chance at an early release to a halfway house. >> when he entered the other inmate's cell, it was 3:00 in the morning. in the particular housing unit that inmate allen was in, those doors are not secured. they're not locked due to the nature of what kind of housing unit that is. they're not supposed to be going into other inmates' cells at that point. at that time when he was in that housing unit, he was on a detail. and that detail was the night detail. that's why he was awake at 3:00 in the morning. however, he chose to take advantage of the situation by entering someone else's cell at that time. inmate allen is typically not a disciplinary problem. >> i've been here almost a year and some months. and i haven't had one disciplinary action. this is my first one. so all they charged me was with being out of place. that's all the charges was. >> william will now have to serve out the remaining six months in jail. >> now i have to go into survival mode. i mean, you regret your movements, your actions. you got to think about whether to bite your tongue, hold your tongue. this is a game of chess here. this is nothing but the art of war. this is all it is. >> while things having tough for the allen brothers, their sister melissa has gotten some good news from the judge. he has given her 60 days to find a drug rehabilitation facility that will accept her for an intensive six month treatment plan. >> i was going like this. my knees was knocking together. i had my cross. i was like please, please, please don't send me to jail. he said i'm going to do this last thing. go 60 days and find a program. and when you find that program, bring the paper back over when they accept you. bring it back to him and they would waive me. and they'll take me from there. i said you can't get to better than that. oh, my god. for the things i did, you can't get no better than that. >> family spent so many years since we drifted apart. it doesn't mean i don't love you. i was lost in the dark. i was trapped in a maze trying to find my way. but yet the drugs and the lifestyle had a hold and won't let go. telling me i need it but yet killing me so. in my heart i refuse to succumb. second to none. i love you.