In this episode, Superintendent Keith Vermillion welcomes documentary filmmakers Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill to YTS in 1978, eager to showcase the institution’s progressive programs. Given full access for 14 weeks, the filmmakers soon uncover a stark reality they hadn’t anticipated. As tensions rise, their camera captures young men in crisis, revealing an institution on the brink of violence.

In this episode, Tony “The Tiger” Espinosa is an amateur boxer on the rise in Oxnard, California. With a devastating left hook, he’s undefeated, and gamblers place their bets on his next fight. Suddenly, his promising career in the ring is cut short: Tony lands in juvenile hall, facing time in the California Youth Authority. When he’s transferred to Youth Training School, all bets are off as The Tiger finds himself in the fight of his life.

In this episode, a young staff psychologist arrives in 2009 with a university degree and ambition for her first job. But the wards on I & J unit only see fresh meat, as Dr. Ashley Massimino armours her mind and body to absorb horrific confessions from the darkest corner of YTS, the Sexual Behavior Treatment Program.

In this episode, Fernando Vizcarra, a rookie correctional officer, stands his ground at YTS during one of its most difficult times, as violent assaults on the staff have put control of the prison in the inmate’s hands. An imposing administrative team responds with tactical force, accused of using mafia-style tactics to regain control of the institution. New alliances form as secrets are traded as currency, resulting in the killing of a counselor.

In this episode, Gerardo “Monkey” Martinez, a young Nahua Native from Mexico, arrives in El Monte, California to a family he doesn’t recognize. Violence at home puts him on the streets, where his skills has a fighter make him a friend or foe of rival gangs, resulting in a confrontation that takes one life, and ends another.

In this episode, the 15-year-old son of a prominent correctional officer arrives at YTS as a high school intern, soon to follow in his father’s footsteps. He comes of age in the institution as a young night watchman. Immersed in the prison’s hidden underbelly, he comes to know the institution like no other — a harrowing portrait of the prison after dark.

In this episode, Remigio “Mike” Chavez, is one of 11 sleeping on the floor of his family’s crowded, single-bedroom apartment in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles —territory of the notorious 18th Street gang. He spends his days gazing from the apartment’s rooftop into the dream-like waters of a koi pond below. But as the dream fades, his nightmare begins, on a journey destined for YTS.

In this episode, David Sanchez, a 19-year old with few options in life, takes a job as a corrections officer at YTS, where the willingness to fight was the only experience needed. Working the graveyard shift, he becomes an unlikely father-figure to wards older than himself, as the facility faces closure from mounting costs and corruption.

In this episode, Jaime Morales is an ambitious youngster making a name for himself on the streets of South East LA. They called him “Lazy,” but he is anything but that — embarking on a spree of strongarm carjackings and robberies that land him in YTS, where he sparks a religious revival during the prison’s darkest hours.

In this episode, 14-year old Luis Ortega arrives in Los Angeles, lonely and vulnerable, before looking to South Central’s notorious 38th Street Gang for protection. When his desire to fit in with the gang leads to murder, Luis sheds his need for protection by fighting for survival in YTS.

In this episode, Adrián (not his real name) ascends the ranks of La Eme — The Mexican Mafia — as he trades violence as currency in seeking shelter from the swelling corruption he witnesses within the California Youth Authority.

In this episode, John (aka Cool Breeze) returns to YTS years after his incarceration to find employment there as a schoolteacher.

In this episode, Jeff (aka Huerito) is short timing when he leaves the comfort of Ventura Youth Correctional Facility to arrive at Fire Camp.

In this episode, Chris (aka Savage) is sent to The Hole for hiding a shank under his mattress, when the prison suddenly breaks out into riot.

“The Closing of California’s MOst Violent JUvenile Prison” depicts the Heman G. Stark Juvenile Prison, previously known as YTS or Youth Training School, as it stands today, years after it was closed by the State of California. My grandfather was a respected warden and consultant to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including a stay as Associate Warden at Atlanta’s Federal Prison in the 1940’s. He served as a consultant at Stark for a brief time in the 1970’s.