Prison Chronicles

Three stories of men willing to take risks to escape the cold, dark cells of "the Rock". Six convicts organise a jailbreak, and three men attempt an elaborate breakout.

An inmate nearly starves himself to death to protest the prison's policies.

The Hanoi Hilton, an American POW prison from the Vietnam War, is situated in Hanoi, Vietnam. Prisoners include John McCain, a group of airmen who invent a secret communication code, and Jeremiah Denton, who sneaks messages home on live TV.

A maximum-security prison on the banks of the Hudson, just 30 miles north of New York City, gives rise to the saying, `being sent up the river'.

Dannemora prison opens in 1845 as a source of free labour for the local mines; Kenneth Kimes takes a Court TV producer hostage; Tupac Shakur stirs up trouble; Richard Matt and David Sweat attempt to escape.

San Quentin, located in Marin County on San Francisco Bay, is California's oldest prison, dating back to the Gold Rush era. It is home to the state's only gas chamber.