He told me he fought for his life every day that he was in there. Inmates complain that the guards are at best, indifferent. Some go so far as to say that the guards in some prisons use sexual abuse, or the threat of it, as a tool to help control the population. The corrections officers reply that they can't be everywhere at once, and are already in one of the most dangerous professions there is. But this is a problem that has consequences.
Inmates serve their time, and get out.
Their lives may be shattered by these experiences, and there is evidence that some of these men become victimizers themselves, whether in prison or after they are released. This is a tough subject, no question about it. But it's one that we don't think we should turn away from. As regular viewers of Nightline know, we have spent a lot of time looking at our prison system, and we'll be doing that again tonight. Leroy Sievers is executive producer of Nightline.