00:08handcuffs prison clothes a rough tone these aren't convicted prisoners but children
00:17but why are they in jail if they didn't commit a crime
00:25keep going to find out we head to chester south carolina
00:35it's friday just before six o'clock in the morning
00:40these kids will spend their weekend in jail even though they didn't do anything wrong among them
00:46katrell he's just eight years old six o'clock sharp is the start of the weekend experience
01:04those responsible for it their own parents katrell's mother deandra has voluntarily sent her son here
01:13his attitude his um outlook on life his grades start back going up
01:19it's like i'm looking for a possible impact on the behalf of this
01:23jail for getting bad grades the parents pay 75 dollars to treat their children as real criminal
01:30offenders we are shocked by the harsh treatment courtney also finds it difficult to see her 14
01:38year old son nola like this but she's afraid that he'll come off the rails she sees this weekend
01:44as a last resort i felt bad but i would feel even worse if i was somewhere having to identify
01:52him or
01:53anything of that nature so because the way he is that's where he's at
02:01a weekend in prison as an extreme educational measure
02:06time to say goodbye to their parents nola and the rest aren't staying here any longer
02:12with flashing blue lights and sirens they head to the prison
02:16the goal of the officers is to push the children physically and mentally to their limits
02:27for the next two days these blue walls will be the home to nola and the others
02:37come that's the last one
02:38deputy boy is taking part in this program for the first time how does he find the harsh treatment of
02:43the kids so you just got to be mindful and they are children but they got to change their life
02:51now
02:52so when they do get of age they have a better path some of the kids are actually in real
02:59trouble
03:00Nola's mother thinks her son is hanging out with gang members.
03:06You run the street over there?
03:08Tell the truth.
03:10Tell the truth.
03:11Talk.
03:12You run the street over there?
03:15You run one little gang?
03:17But is this kind of deterrence the right way?
03:21Children should learn what prison life feels like,
03:23and everything that goes with it.
03:26Contact with the outside world and their parents is only possible through a thick glass panel.
03:31And in the middle of the conversation, the officer interrupts them unannounced.
03:42Did you get to talk to him?
03:43Yes, I did.
03:44So you had a desk to give me all the phone?
03:49Courtney is visibly shocked, but that's exactly what the officers want to achieve.
03:53I see my mom, my dad, my aunt, my grandmother, and I can't touch them.
03:59Because there's somebody behind me screaming, yelling, yelling, and not allowing me to touch.
04:05As the time comes for the parents to go home, the kids can take a breather.
04:10Can Cottrell even understand what's happening here?
04:16I feel bad because I miss my mommy.
04:28Nola looks exhausted.
04:31What do you think about all this?
04:41How do the officers justify the extreme handling of the children?
04:46Life is harsh, so what would you prefer?
04:48You would prefer for us to be hard on them and here to keep them from coming in here?
04:52Or be out on the street and learn street lessons, those harsh lessons, and end up in here?
04:58Which one is better?
05:00Extreme deterrence.
05:01This program has been around since 2012.
05:04An important part of this is meeting real inmates.
05:07But before that happens, Cottrell and the others have to spend their first night in a cell.
05:18The next day, it also starts with a drill.
05:21But the tone changes a bit.
05:25Deputy Boyd and the other guards call it the building phase.
05:29They try to talk some sense to the kids.
05:33That's a long passage, baby.
05:35Keep going down.
05:36You will be in here.
05:40If you keep hanging with me.
05:41You will end up in here.
05:43Or a place like this.
05:45Gang member or just rebellious?
05:47A profile for the program doesn't exist.
05:50The decision to send their children to prison lies solely with their parents.
05:57Before Nola and the others meet real inmates, it's time to go to the nearby city park.
06:02Social work time.
06:06On the way over, we drive through Chester.
06:09Drugs and gangs are a big problem here.
06:14And we had a 14-year-old about three weeks ago get killed.
06:17Right.
06:17Gang related.
06:19Lieutenant Neil is a co-founder of the program and the Chester native.
06:23But his connection is even deeper with the kids.
06:26And the reason why my heart is in this program is because I once was an at-risk youth.
06:31I was actually a bad youth.
06:33I did the gang banging.
06:34That's why we take so much pride in the program that we're doing.
06:38Because we all once were there.
06:40The police voluntarily sacrifice their weekend once a month.
06:44They're not paid.
06:45But it's worth it.
06:47Deputy Graham even took part in a similar program as a teenager.
06:55And that's how we're able to relate to the kids.
06:57That's how we're able to relate to a whole lot of stuff on the street that we deal with.
07:00Because we've been there.
07:01We've done that.
07:02We know what's going on.
07:04But they don't realize that the program could also harm some.
07:08They're convinced of the program's success.
07:11Out of around 750 children, seven had serious problems with the law afterwards.
07:19Back in prison, we also notice a change.
07:22The mood is more relaxed.
07:25Then it's time for the children to be left with the real inmates.
07:28Some of them are even in for murder.
07:31The ugly truth.
07:38Man, you know why I'm here.
07:39I don't give a damn about you.
07:41You know why I often get the hell up by myself.
07:46You know what I'm here.
07:48The dream is to become a professional football player.
07:52If you want to play football, you can come to jail and you can play football.
07:56Go to college.
07:58Be somebody like that.
08:00You can be doctor, lawyers, teachers, whatever you want to be.
08:03Even the street, all the day you're doing is cutting your life short.
08:08That's it.
08:08That's all you're doing.
08:10The street is not the life you want to live in.
08:15The meeting leaves its mark on the boys.
08:20It changed.
08:21It changed from a little boy that I will to a man who.
08:25It changed the whole attitude.
08:27It changed their anger.
08:29The last task for the kids is to write a letter to their parents.
08:36You write that letter to your parents.
08:39We are hard at it.
08:40We always see an improvement in you and you.
08:45Along with the rest of them.
08:48And who did it?
08:49Who did it?
08:50That's right.
08:53Encouragement is also part of the weekend.
08:55Do you know what you're going to write in, Mom?
08:58I am sorry for being bad at school.
09:02I'm going to write for the more.
09:15Are you mad at me, Mom, for something you have here?
09:19No, Mom.
09:33I've been to college.
09:34I play college football.
09:36I mean, you can do it, man.
09:38I come from the same neighborhood where you come from.
09:41You grew up out with the same people you grew up with.
09:43You got to make decisions to take that different route.
09:49You are going to write for the next week.
09:54Weekend?
09:56The kids are almost done.
10:00Sunday morning, six o'clock.
10:02Courtney and the other parents come to pick up their children.
10:07you can sense the tension did Nola learn anything from this weekend
10:31the parents are relieved and so are the children
10:35is that just because the weekend is over a weekend in jail for an eight-year-old is
10:42that really necessary do you think that was the only option
10:49well not really it's like after the class from looking at a different impact on things
10:55I was like I could have done different things differently so it was basically a changing
11:01deandra seems reflexive Courtney seems relieved the method is questionable but at least the
11:13policemen really seem to care about the children and for them too a long weekend comes to an end
11:26so
11:28you
11:29you
