Hard Time

National Geographic follows new inmates entering the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison before they are classified and sent to a permanent facility to serve their hard time. Follow correctional officers as they get new inmates -- from murderers to minor offenders -- shaved, showered, deloused and ready to be immersed into prison life.

Hays State Prison is one of the toughest facilities in Georgia. Follow new inmates as they are forced to learn the ropes and face the hurdles that come with entering a new prison. And experience the front lines of being a corrections officer in a facility where tensions run especially high and where the system's efforts to control inmates can make its officers targets.

Step inside Hays State Prison where a war is underway between inmates and officers.
National Geographic follows inmates and prison officials as they struggle to set the rules inside these walls.

Witness a surprise shakedown of inmates as special officers and a K-9 unit blanket the cell house, searching every room for contraband and weapons. Meet an inmate at the helm of a prison criminal enterprise, trafficking everything from hard drugs to cell phones through the prison.

National Geographic reveals how doing time in an extreme world such as Georgia's paramilitary correctional system can transform someone. For some inmates, the change starts physically, often in the form of an illegal prison tattoo that can guarantee time in solitary confinement. Others become what some call "the female gender" behind bars.

Get an intimate view of Hi-Max -- the most extreme prison environment allowed in Georgia, where beds are bolted to the walls, doors are operated remotely and inmates are checked every half-hour. And discover "shock incarceration," for nonviolent first-time offenders: 90 days of intense, military-style boot camp. Here, young offenders are pushed to their limits to develop discipline and self-control, and get an unforgettable taste of the ramifications of a continued life of crime.

Every element of control at Hays State Prison feeds one central purpose: to keep convicted and dangerous felons inside. But when it all fails, two inmates make their move for freedom.

National Geographic follows the intense manhunt for two escaped convicts. Inmates go into lockdown, tactical squads assemble and K-9 units scour the riverside looking for clues. Meet one of the best manhunters in the state and watch the shakedown as inmates are interrogated, cells are ripped apart and everything is searched.