The number of inmates in American prisons is outpacing the system's ability to hold them all. In one startling example, California prisons hold 70,000 more inmates than they're designed for, even though the state has built a dozen new prisons in the last 15 years. One of the biggest reasons is rampant recidivism.

"Right now, seven out of every 10 inmates that leaves this prison comes back,"California Warden Mike Poulos tells NOW. "We need to stop that revolving door."

In this episode, NOW goes inside an Illinois prison that may have the answer to California's problems. With its innovative plan to keep released inmates from coming back, the Sheridan Correctional Center is trying to redefine "tough on crime"by being the largest fully dedicated drug prison in the country. The approach involves aggressive counseling, job training ... and following the convicts after they get out. Can their novel approach keep convicts out of jail for good? NOW looks at the lives of three different men - all in different stages of the system - to find out.

The NOW Web site at www.pbs.org/now will provide additional coverage starting Friday, June 1, 2007. Features include facts and figures on U.S. prisons and prisoners and revealing poetry from one former inmate.