staying out of trouble with other inmates. ♪ >> i don't partake in gambling, card playing, any of that kind of stuff. i'm gambling right now, though, with my life. that's the biggest bet i ever made. >> small's gamble is whether to go to trial or accept a plea deal on his latest charge. >> try not to do 10, 15, 20 years for punching somebody. >> small says he was also gambling 18 months earlier when he was arrested on this latest charge. he and his alleged victim were shooting pool at a bar. smalls said he suddenly feared for his safety, so he made a preemptive strike. >> i don't like to call it a fight. because a fight is exchanging blows, and somebody got punched. this just happened to have been a situation gone totally wrong. >> prosecutors say that small's punch fractured the man's skull leaving him in a coma with