America's Toughest Prisons

New series of the programme that unlocks the truth about some of America's most notorious prisons. This edition focuses on Statesville Prison in Illinois. With violence a constant threat at this maximum-security facility, guards and inmates alike must find ways to cope with daily life.

Life inside Fremont Correctional Facility in Colorado, which houses 1,600 prisoners, 1,400 of whom are guilty of sexual offences. Rapists and child molesters are regarded with contempt by inmates imprisoned for other crimes, causing one offender to prefer the safety of solitary confinement. Social worker Mr McGill discusses the rehabilitation process, and an officer explains the risks facing many female guards.

Life inside the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Centre, located in the remote town of Bethal, Alaska, where the vast majority of crimes are connected to drug and alcohol abuse. A state trooper explains how important the support of the community is, and a Village Public Safety Officer explains his role in arresting suspects.

Life inside Colorado's Youthful Offender System, which offers the final chance for juvenile felons to rehabilitate themselves before being sent to an adult institution. An 18-year-old shares his experience of the facility's intense four-week boot camp, which aims to break individuals down and rebuild them as a team, and a former gang leader who is now considered a model prisoner discusses his progress.

Life inside Detroit's Wayne County Jail, where a radical new scheme offers habitual female offenders a final chance at life on the outside. The inmates, who are often from troubled and violent backgrounds, are put through a stringent retraining programme and offered the chance of early release in the hope they will not reoffend.

Following ex-convict Donovan who, after 14 years in prison, must learn to live on the outside. He is forced to face his family, find work and confront his past, and with two thirds of ex-cons ending up back behind bars, he faces a struggle to resist the temptation of reverting to a life of crime.