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Check out the moment President Obama meets with federal prison inmates as part of our upcoming HBO special on the criminal justice system.
"See, I can walk into any prison and I'm instantly gonna know what's going on. Don't even got to know no one in the room. I'm gonna know who's who and what's up. Out here, if I walk into a room of people I don't know, I'm uncomfortable. Don't know how to act. Feel like everyone's lookin' at me, judgin' me. That's why I just keep workin' the job I'm on. Even though I ain't earning much, don't want to go through the whole process of havin' to explain myself and my background all over again."Ronnie told the group that he wasn't alone. He communicated with a few other guys who served long stretches in the penitentiary. They were the same way. The adjustments they made inside made them feel as if they'd missed something when they returned to society. He's as well-adjusted as he'll ever be, Ronnie said. But he told me that he felt more comfortable in prison than he would ever feel in society. "Those are my people in prison and I know how to handle myself in there. Don't know how to act out here. I missed a generation or something, and it's still a shock. I can't relate."
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