Prison life is hard-but for most ex-convicts, life on the outside is tough, too. This video follows paroled prisoners as they re-enter civilian life and face challenges both large and small. Upon release from jail, the lives of these young men are suddenly filled with critical decisions. Some are dreaded, such as the split-second choice of whether or not to engage in violence-the wrong choice will put them back behind bars. Other dilemmas are unexpected,...

The Supreme Court's landmark decision that it is unconstitutional to execute people who are mentally retarded reverses decades of jurisprudence. In this program, ABC News correspondent John Donvan visits the ongoing legal battle that prompted the initial 1980 ruling, the case of Texas convict John Paul Penry. Argument rages not over Penry's guilt but what determines mental retardation. Commenting on the case are Joe Price, prosecutor in all of Penry's...

Job opportunities in criminal justice are on the rise. This program looks at a number of different occupations, ranging from entry-level positions to those requiring a four-year degree. Experts and people on the job share firsthand information about what their work is like. Some of the occupations discussed include local and state police officers, detectives, correctional officers, bodyguards, FBI agents, probation and parole officers, private investigators,...

In 1994, voters sent a clear message to Congress: focus on punishment through harsher and longer sentences. But since even a life sentence does not necessarily translate into a life behind bars, society is expected to assimilate paroled ex-convicts who have had little or no rehabilitation. In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel examines the case of James Pope III-sentenced on two counts of murder and armed robbery, but eligible for parole in...

Interviews with teens, attorneys, and law enforcement officials illustrate the real-world consequences of adolescent alcohol and drug use in this video created expressly for high school students. From underage drinking violations or drug possession to drinking-and-driving accidents or assault, this no-nonsense video shows the serious social and legal ramifications of teen drinking and drugging.

Narrated by Danny Trejo, Turned Out looks beyond the shock and inhumanity of prison rape to the intricate social hierarchy that keeps it alive. Filmmaker Jonathan Schwartz went deep inside Alabama's infamous Limestone Correctional Facility to uncover the long-term causes and consequences of prison rape. With a startling lack of inhibition, five inmates reveal the workings of an elaborate inner society. In Limestone, sex is the gold standard: men sell...

A crusading legal scholar exposes the powerful psychological forces that undermine our criminal justice system--and affect us all Our nation is founded on the notion that the law is impartial, that legal cases are won or lost on the basis of evidence, careful reasoning and nuanced argument. But they may, in fact, turn on the temperature of the courtroom, the camera angle of a defendant's taped confession, or a simple word choice or gesture during...

In an era when no other industrialized Western nation enforces a death penalty, America has executed an average of 39 convicts per year over the past decade. Is it a just punishment? Is it even a deterrent? In this Emmy Award-winning program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel seeks to understand the paradoxical nature of the death penalty-not in theory, but in practice, as he follows Mario Marquez from Death Row to his execution, along with Marquez' attorney...

Filmed over the course of a year, this documentary goes inside Glen Mills Schools in Pennsylvania, a "boarding school" alternative to prison for about 1,000 young members of street gangs convicted of crimes. Sam Ferrainola, the school's director, has pioneered a system of rewards and privileges where the young men keep themselves under strict surveillance, reporting infractions of the rules to upperclassmen, or "Big Brothers." Ferrainola stresses...

Across the United States, approximately 80,000 inmates are locked down in solitary confinement. The practice has led to Congressional hearings, UN reports, and even prison hunger strikes. Is solitary inhumane-and even a form of torture? In this ABC News program, reporter Dan Harris volunteers to spend 48 hours "in the hole" at Denver County Jail in an effort to find out. Over the course of his brief but intense incarceration, Harris has to cope with...