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an inmate's stress prompts an emergency response. >> he's been trying to abuse himself all day. threatening suicide. trying to swallow things. >> i'm in here because of ike and tina. that's what i named my hands. ike and tina. >> a repeat offender is charged with beating her mother and must now rely on her daughter for support. >> please don't forget to get the money, alexis. you know where to put it at in the machine? >> mm-hmm. >> an inmate known for his brawn decides to focus on his brain. >> keep it coming. keep it coming. keep it coming. >> and -- >> she was stabbed 19 times. >> after two prison sentences for attacking women, another inmate is accused of an unthinkable act. >> he's going to have emotional triggers that nobody else in this jail can understand, and he's safest being by himself.

>> louisville, kentucky, is a city of landmarks. many of them household names from the world of sports. in the heart of downtown, however, there's a landmark of a different sort. the louisville metro department of corrections jail houses 2,300 inmates, most of whom have been charged with crimes and are awaiting trial and the resolution of their cases. >> there it is. >> in the bucket, boy. get all that. >> the vast majority of inmates are men, who try to pass time with sports activities themselves.

but in the eight dormitories housing the jail's daily average of 210 female inmates, much of the focus is on beauty. >> pencil. out of commissary. you draw and color with them. and they're also good for makeup. great eye shadow and great mascara. just add a little warm water to it and voila. i put yellow on for me because of the uniform. >> monique jeffries might have an eye for color, but it's her hands that landed her in jail. >> i'm in here because of ike and tina. that's what i named my hands, ike and tina. >> why? >> because ike was aggressive. and tina finally fought back. >> are you a good fighter? >> i'm going to pat myself on the back. yes. i'm 39, and i ain't never took a

loss. and the only person i ever took a loss to is a male. but i refuse to let a woman beat me up. >> fighting has earned jeffries three prior assault convictions and numerous jail stays on related charges over the past 15 years. >> people are going to look at it and watch this and say she's too old to be fighting. you're not too old to give an ass whooping, and you're not too old to take one. >> jeffries, i basically know my whole career over 12 years, she's seen me go from officer to lieutenant. it's kind of like following a professional relationship through her career coming in and out of jail and my career going through jail. so it's pretty unique. you coming back? >> [ bleep ] damn, i'm moving out of town. >> we've had this conversation before. >> he's one of the good ones. yeah. he's my favorite. >> jeffries' latest assault conviction for which she is now in jail awaiting sentencing

struck closer to home. during an argument she knocked out two of her mother's teeth, gave her a black eye and burned her arms with a curling iron. jeffries said her mother provoked it, and she is confident that she will be released on parole at her upcoming sentencing hearing. >> nature itself joins in. let the rivers clap their hands. let the hills be joyful together before the lord. >> but the judge could give her up to five years in state prison. >> i'm learning to control my anger. that's why i'm in here. >> while faith might keep jeffries calm, maintaining her femininity lifts her spirits. >> if i don't get up and glamify myself and just lay back down, i'm depressed. so i get up and i take a shower at night and i take one in the morning. i get up, brush my teeth, comb my hair, and i lay right back down. >> it's not just women that are concerned about their appearance

at louisville metro.

>> as they walked towards the station, they opened the bag and they reported to police that they found wires, pipes and they immediately were concerned that it was an explosive device and called in police and all night for several hours the fbi and local police treating this very seriously. train traffic along the track of route there has been shut down. penn station out of new york experiencing some delays this evening as a result of the stoppage of train traffic going through that region. now all of that happening at the bridge. the fbi and nypd stopped a vehicle, this is now separate, in new york, along the belt parkway, there was a vehicle stopped with five people inside and they were taken in for questioning by the fbi and the

nypd in connection with the terror investigation and an fbi spokeswoman in new york confirming that there was a vehicle stop and men are being questioned. but as of now, no official arrest, no charges. but we're also told that some of those men are from new jersey and some may be from the elizabeth, new jersey area. there is growing concern among several officials we spoke with tonight that there is a terror cell operating now in the new york and new jersey region because of these multiple devices and these multiple incidents that we're seeing from south jersey into the city of new york. and that is the concern and the operating theory at this time and the joint terrorism task force working around the clock trying to get a grip on exactly who is building these device, who is trying to plant them and whether they are in fact all real devices and whether there

is some sort of home grown cell or some other motive behind what is taking place. but again, new york, new jersey investigations ongoing including this device that apparently exploded, whether it with us a controlled explosion or not, at the elizabeth, new jersey train station this evening. >> thank you so much for that report. right now we'll go back to miguel who is on the scene in new jersey. can you give us an up with date of what the scene is like there? >> reporter: certainly still very active. police pushed us back 100 yards. we're up higher when that explosion went off. we saw the mayor walking through the area a short time ago. he briefed a short time ago and we're hoping to have a few minutes with him to learn more about what happened here. police are still working this area. we haven't seen an influx of officers coming here. we know the bomb squad is here.

we've seen officers in tactical gear. they have been here for several hours. no increase in police activity. but an active policing. they've asked the media to step further away from where the suspicious device was found. as soon as we have more information we'll pass that along. >> this happened around 9:30 in the evening and it's 10 past 1:00 on the east coast. how are the passengers handling this? what has new jersey transit been doing to get the passengers away from the scenario? >> reporter: from our vantage point we have not been able to see the passengers. we assume the passengers are being left off trains in an area that is not directly close to at least our proximity to the train station. as a matter of fact there's only a few locals that live in this area. police are pushed us further and further away. they are not letting anyone in or out of the train station. we haven't seen any passengers

arriving here. >> miguel, thank you so much. you're live on the scene. and jonathan dooens is live in our new york office right here at 30 rock covering the scene in elizabeth, new jersey where there's a controlled explosion. we're going to be following more detail. stay with us on msnbc. breaking news out of elizabeth, new jersey. stay with us for more details. boxing champion muhammad ali may be the most celebrated son. but fame and fortune. including thomas bam bam lewis. >> a nickname i've had since i

was 12 years old. when i compete in arm wrestling, a pret i good nickname to have. i don't box anymore, i quit. too old for that. i've always got to find something to >> the problem is lewis can't always find many opponents willing to arm wrestle him. but he has found another way of testing his strength. it involves outdated phone books. lewis is currently serving a one-year sentence for nonpayment of child support. he says it was always hard to make ends meet without a high

school diploma. but now, thanks to a program offered by the jail, he's just days away from receiving his ged. >> my mom's proud of me. finally can say she's proud of me. after a lot of other stuff, she's always worried about me in boxing, always worried about me getting hurt in competition and other stuff i do. she don't really like tattoos. but this is one thing i can actually say she's proud of me for. >> while lewis has made the most of his time at louisville metro, some inmates continue to struggle. the special operations response team, or s.o.r.t., has just been alerted to a disturbance involving an inmate currently on suicide watch. it is jail policy to document such calls on video. >> behavior has been self-abusive. today he is stating that he has

swallowed items. he's told the officers he swallowed a comb. he was spitting up blood. also, we did catch him in an attempt to swallow part of a toothbrush. he's been strip-searched. >> he a level 1 inmate, which means he's on suicide ups because he keeps trying to harm himself. >> and being naked? >> he refuses to put the smock on. [ yelling ] >> the inmate, laron moore, has just banged his head into the door frame. >> grubbs. he just rammed his head into the wall. >> just give it to him right now. >> medical personnel are called to administer a sedative. >> ow. >> take it easy, man. >> i didn't take anything, man. >> moore, who has pled not guilty to 13 charges including

wanton endangerment, receiving stolen firearms, and evading arrest, is placed in a restraint chair, where he is secured at the feet, arms, and waist. >> this guy has had issues in the past with self-abusive behavior. the restraint chair is to prevent that behavior. >> officers also place protective head gear on moore to prevent further self-injury. >> the nurses will keep monitoring. the officers will be checking him every 15 minutes. and he'll have an inmate one-on-one watcher that will sit outside and observe him also. and we'll just keep a check on him, and probably here in 30 minutes or an hour, maybe if he's -- if the medication takes effect, then we might look at taking him out of that restraint chair and placing him back in his cell. >> psychiatric staff will also meet with moore in an attempt to better understand his self-abusive behavior and to formulate a treatment plan.

over in the women's wing, monique jeffries has been formulating fashion plans for herself and her dorm mates. >> it don't make her look no better. >> she makes earrings from candy wrappers. >> look at it. bam. boo-yah. >> and she also makes jewelry from comb tines including the one for her facial piercing. >> it's called the marilyn monroe. i change it like every three days, i change it and put a new piece of comb in it. because when you eat, bacteria and stuff, i don't want it to get infected. >> jeffries' homemade jewelry could be confiscated because in jail any item that is altered from its intended use is contraband. but she can legally acquire her raw supplies like candy bars and combs from the jail commissary, a virtual general store. >> that's real important to the inmates if they've got money on their account because they can buy cookies, pops, potato chips, soups. >> i try to not eat a lot of

sweets because i'm a diabetic. my commissary snacks are cupcakes, pop-tarts, snickers. >> and how do these qualify as not being sweet? >> i act naughty sometimes during my -- i'm not supposed to have sugar, but i have it just in case my sugar level drops. >> but jeffries faces another risk every time she wants to place an order for new commissary items. >> hello? how are you doing? >> having enough money on her inmate debit account to pay for it. >> i'm lucky, each time that i've been incarcerated, that somebody's put money on my books. and most of the time i was incarcerated, my mother put money on my books to make sure that i was all right. >> answering machine came on. >> that's one source of funding jeffries has lost. she is currently awaiting

sentencing for an assault on her mother that included knocking out two teeth and burning her with a curling iron. >> you can put -- will you put $100 on my book? and that will last me. i can't eat this food in here. i tried. it made me sick. >> so today jeffries reaches out to an ex-boyfriend for commissary money. >> i am grateful. huh? he said, you sit up here calling me, have everybody calling me, telling me you're starving. you ain't hungry. >> you ain't hungry. >> i was. i have been hungry. i think with me that's the most important thing when you're locked up, food and that phone. >> call you later on tonight. i sure will. you have a nice workout. okay? and i appreciate everything you do for me. okay. bye. >> feel better? >> no. because he was yelling at me. coming up -- >> i tell him give you $25 so

you can give it to me. and don't take it, alexis. hello. >> monique jeffries seeks another source of commissary funding. her daughter. >> why do i have to be your mama? why do i have to be there when i need you to be there? >> and anthony politi relives the past. >> i wrote stuff on the wall in blood, and it was threatening. ♪ ♪ the highly advanced audi a4. ♪

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most of the inmates inside the louisville metro department of corrections jail prefer living in dorm-style housing units where they can at least socialize and have access to tv. but anthony politi is happy to be housed alone in his cell and to occasionally chat with a neighbor. >> politi. what's up? you got a haircut. let me see. you ugly, man. >> i could not be in a room with 20, 30 people all day. that would drive me insane. you know, i'd end up hurting somebody or i'd make them hurt me. i just couldn't do it. >> politi is charged with murder and rape. but despite police claims that he confessed after he was arrested, politi says he has no recollection of the murder.

>> how did the 40-year-old girl end up dead in your room, man? what happened? >> i don't know. somebody strangled her, they said. >> somebody strangled her, it weren't you? >> i don't remember. >> i'd have been pissed if i came home and there was a dead body in my room. i'd have been pissed, man. >> well, from my past experiences, i don't know, it's possible i did it, but i don't think i did. i really don't. i've done [ bleep ] before and not remembered it. that's when people pissed me off, though. >> this is not the first time politi has been charged with a violent crime where he says memory failed him. he once served a 15-year prison sentence for assault with intent to commit murder after he stabbed an ex-girlfriend. >> she was stabbed 19 times. i don't remember it. >> shortly after his release from prison, politi was living with family. a female relative said he attempted to rape and strangle her. politi denies all that but admits to another disturbing action. >> i wrote stuff on the wall in blood, and it was threatening. i didn't write anything threatening, but because it was

blood -- >> what did you write? >> i love you, i love you, i love you. stuff like that. >> whose blood? >> mine. >> after the relative chose not to confront him in court, politi's charges were dropped to wanton endangerment, and he was sentenced to another seven years in prison. less than a year after his release, he was arrested on his current charges of murder, rape, and sodomy. >> he was talking about getting the death penalty if they tried to give you a life sentence or something. >> i'm not doing any time anymore. >> not doing no time? >> either let me out the door or, you know, give me the death penalty. >> death penalty, which would you rather take? the injection or the -- what's it called? >> injection. i would never do the gas. >> you'd rather take the injection? oh, my god, man. you are crazy. >> the injection is a little more humane than the gas. >> believe me, man, you are crazy, man. >> mr. politi, how about you sit over here and i'll sit here. it might work better. >> while he awaits trial at

louisville metro, politi receives checkups from the jail psychiatrist, dr. easley. >> how have you been? >> not very good. i can't sleep. during the day or at night. either -- i hear a lot of voices. sometimes i go over the same thought -- think about the same thing over and over till it keeps me up all night. sometimes they argue among themselves, and sometimes they argue with me, telling me to do stuff over and over again. >> so the voices tell you to do things you don't want to do? >> yeah. >> can you give me an example? >> i mean, sometimes it's violent things like hit this person. hit them, hit them, hit them over and over again. hit them here, you know, hit them there. >> are they telling you to hit me now? >> no, they're telling me to shut up. >> politi went on to describe several graphic accounts of sexual abuse he says he suffered as a child. >> is there anything else you want to tell me about? >> not that i know of. >> are you safe here in the

jail? >> as long as they keep me in that little room i got. >> all right. we need to be wrapping up. i'm going to change your medicine a little bit. all right? >> all right. >> i hope you feel better. >> all right. thank you. >> thank you for talking with me. can i come back and see you? all right. thanks. >> this is a man who has an unusual -- i mean, enough that it even surprises me. his life is that unusual. his background. so he's going to have emotional triggers that nobody else in this jail can understand, and he's safest being by himself, without triggering all that. >> coming up -- >> i won't touch -- i mean, i've got to touch them, but i don't like to. >> a louisville metro lunchtime tradition. and -- >> you don't want your son on the streets. >> no, sir. >> is that why you were hurting yourself? >> yeah. >> dr. easley attempts to get through to laron moore.

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. >> reporter: how concerned are you that something like this would be left behind, not just one but multiple devices. >> extremely concerned for the residents of the community but more importantly more concerned for efb in the state and country where somebody can go and drop a backpack into a garbage can with multiple explosives in it with no timers and you have to wonder how many people could have been hurt. i don't have the tex per's the determine the blast function of that. but based on the loudness, i think people could have been severely hurt or injured if they were in the vicinity when that went off. >> reporter: is there any concern there might be other devices elsewhere in elizabeth? >> we've done a secondary check

in the area and haven't found anything. ki tell you in the morning when the garbage conditions are getting picked up there will be due diligence and a lot of effort into being careful in what you see or find. >> reporter: any decisions on schools tomorrow or any other precautions? >> i don't make a decision on schools, the superintendent of schools will make that. at this time i believe the schools will be open in the morning but the superintendent will make that cool. >> reporter: you're saying this is going to take longer than you expected. we know new jersey transit service is shut down at the moment. do you expect that will remain to be the case? >> new jersey transit is going to have to make that determination. i believe if we can get the devices out of the area and secure the area the trains will be up running tomorrow or at some point later today. >> reporter: is that the plan to remove them and detonate them at

another location? >> i don't. i believe that's the plan, to get them out of this area. they would like to sai them to find out what's in them. that's the challenge of the fbi and the state police. i don't have the jurisdiction over that. >> reporter: can you give us some clarity with where these devices were and if there were five of them together what kind of damage they could have done to a crowd of people? >> the backpack was found in a garbage can 300 feet from the front door of wally's pub, which if that pub was crowded and there was a lot of people there, it could have severely injured, maimed or killed many people. no one was around and it was discovered by two men who reported it to police headquarters. i don't -- i can imagine if all five of them went off at the same time that the loss of life could have been tremendous.

the phone call arrived at 8:47. those gentlemen found it earlier, walked it around the corner thinking there was something of value in it. when they realized it was too heavy and emptied it out, that's when they left the area and called the police. >> reporter: what's your message to the people? >> people doing this have no value on human life and it's really difficult to understand their rationale. as someone who is a mayor who spends every day trying to look out for the welfare of their community and their citizens and you see someone do something like that or some group, you have to wonder about the thoughtfulless of humanity and their perspective on the human life which is, in their minds, a real negative. and as we spend all day trying to make it better, they spent

all day trying to make it worse. >> reporter: would you ever have imagined elizabeth, new jersey as a target. when we think of potential targets, we think of airports, major transportation hubs, stadiums. would you ever have imagined that elizabethton would have been at the center of this and what does that tell you about the mind-set of who's behind this? >> i'm not willing to say that elizabeth was a target at this time. there's an investigation going on in new york and sandy hook and it's possible that someone could have been taking a train, could have been investigated and coming through this area and decided they needed to get rid of the backpack because they were being followed or investigated. i'm not willing to admit that elizabeth was a terror target because of the location it is very possible that someone was trying to get rid of a package as opposed to setting it off. >> reporter: we spoke earlier about the five men who were arrested. any updated information on that?

>> i spent the last few minutes with all of you. i don't really have an update on all of that yet. i'm going to go back and try to get an update. i'm going to be here a for a few more hours until the area is secure and then i'll leave. i'll clearly come back if i find out more information. i'm sorry to move all of you back here but that was a decision because of the explosion. >> reporter: was that explosion controlled? was that planned? >> it was not. that explosion happened when they were trying to disarm it. >> reporter: the lead agency here is the fbi? >> either the fbi or the state police but the u.s. attorney is on board here too. there are representatives from every branch of government at that scene. anything else? >> reporter: thank you, mayor. >> we have been listening to elizabeth mayor. he's been talking about what's been going on in elizabeth, new jersey, the train service in elizabeth, new jersey has been suspended since about 9:30 this

evening. there were suspicious packages found. as the mayor mentioned, two men picked up a backpack that they had seen in a garbage bin and had walked with it, decided it was a little suspicious and called in the authorities and as the mayor said, the fbi is there, state police are handling the scene. we had seen earlier that a lot of police presence is there. again the train service has been stopped come in and out of newark and elizabeth. that effects the northeast corridor line, new jersey transit. and no word yet as to whether the trains will be up and running again in the morning. right now they're on the scene trying to dismantle the bombs, potential bombs. we believe from what he had said earlier that they might be described as pipe bombs. we do not know how many there were found. we had heard him say that there was a backpack and possibly another suspicious pipe bomb with possible wires and then earlier there was this explosion

that happened at the elizabeth train station. take a listen. [ explosion ]. >> and as you can see. everybody was a little surprised by that. the mayor did say it was not necessarily a controlled explosion, that they had been trying to detonate the device. and it did explode there. and apparently it was loud enough to be heard roughly 500 to 1,000 feet from the scene of where the device was being investigated by the fbi and again the state police. they are trying to find out what the suspicious device is. as the mayor mentioned, it's possible that elizabeth, where this rail station is, has not been a target. his belief is possibly that the bag, since was in a trash bin, possibly was dropped off, maybe somebody was trying to ditch the bag. they do not know at the moment. they're trying to figure out exactly where the package was and how it had gotten there.

they're going to go back to surveillance tapes and try to figure out who had possibly dropped it. again, the elizabeth mayor talking about what's going on in elizabeth, new jersey where suspicious packages, found. train service has been suspended out of the elizabeth and newark area. back to "lockup" on msnbc. this is the sound of sonic technology cleaning deep between teeth. hear the difference? get healthier gums in just 2 weeks vs a manual toothbrush and experience an amazing feel of clean. innovation and you. philips sonicare. save now when you buy philips sonicare. philips sonicare. if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's,

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louisville metro department of corrections jail inmate thomas "bam bam" lewis has been many things. a tattoo artist. a boxer. an arm wrestler. and a high school dropout. most recently he's shown a talent for disposing of old phone books. one thing he thought he'd never be is a math tutor. >> all right. let's start by finishing up doing -- >> the ones we missed? >> doing the ones you missed. >> lewis says the one thing about jail he's grateful for is the ged program, which he has just completed. and now he wants to pay it forward. >> i'm helping these gentlemen get ready for their ged test. it's just something i volunteer to do. and to help somebody else, man, makes me feel like i've achieved something. you're flushing too much. you've got too much on your brain. just calm down, relax, and just work the problem.

>> but now it's time for 40-year-old lewis to play a new role. graduate. >> put on my dress. cute little dress i get to wear. >> still, his reputation precedes him. >> hey, listen. you know this is the gift, right? don't rip it in half, bam bam. >> it's too small. >> ged graduates are allowed to have one visitor at the ceremony. and lewis' has just arrived. >> hi, baby. >> i'm here to watch my son finally graduate. >> good seeing you again. it's been a year. >> yes, hop any -- honey, i know. >> but you finally get to see me walk down the aisle, huh? >> yeah, finally. >> i'm just so glad he's doing this and getting it done. i've been trying to get him to do it for a while. and it's the first time i've actually gotten to touch him for a long time.

>> keep it coming. keep it coming. keep it coming. yeah. mom, i did it. i graduated. i seen all my friends get their high school diploma and my daughter's got hers. i mean, it's something that i really should have had a long time ago. >> get over there with her. >> thomas lewis, come on up here, tom. give it up for thomas, you guys. congratulations. we have mom here with you? >> yes. >> okay. get in here. hold your certificate. okay? look at the camera. congratulations. >> i knew she was happy and proud of me. looking in her eyes said it all.

my life right here. >> all right. say your good-byes. you've got to go. >> hopefully i'll be out soon. i'll walk you out. >> okay. >> walk you as far as i can, anyway. they won't let me walk you out. >> no, i don't think they'll let you walk me out. >> oh, no, i'm in black, they might let me get a little further. >> laron moore might feel he's graduating as well. after several counseling sessions and adjustments to his medication, the jail's mental health staff has approved his transfer from a single-person segregation cell to a general population dorm. >> so tell me how you're feeling about this. >> i'm happy. kind of ready to move back to a dorm and get out of the single cell. >> no anxiety about it? >> no. i think a single cell's meant to break you down mentally. you don't got nobody to talk to. you don't got nobody to vent to. you don't got nobody to do nothing with.

it's just you and four walls and the sunlight. so the only time you do -- you've only got time to think, think, think, think, think. >> how are you doing, man? welcome to the dorm. some other guys in there. you'll get along fine. we play cards, watch tv, watch movies. it's all right in here. you'll like it. the doctors work with you. >> due to overcrowding there are no available bunks in the dorm. so moore will sleep on the floor in a boat, a plastic shell used as a temporary bed. but moore's still happy to be here. >> i'm glad to be out of the single cell. been in there for a while. [ banging ] now that ain't me. it used to be me. >> ooh. >> reach is a toothbrush. >> that's how we playing?

>> another inmate at louisville metro has also seen significant change. six weeks after seeing her daughter -- >> i'll be walking away in here reading my bible. >> -- and soon to be sentenced for assaulting her mother, monique jeffries has had a conversion. >> what are you doing, monique? >> going to muslim service. i changed my religion. okay. i've got to go. >> there's no such thing as i hate this group of people or i hate this race of people or i hate this individual. no. they're all a creation of the creator. so you want to respect the creator? respect his creations. >> yes. >> we want to do the right thing and show the people the real islam. how you be kinder to people. you kind to your neighbors. you kind to society. 1:00. got to go. >> oh, wow. i'm mad. >> i got to go. i'll come back next week, and i will see you guys next week. in what? in shah allah.

>> i won't with here. i'll be at home. >> i'll see you at the mass g. so i'll say in closing a salam aleikum. >> aleikum salam. coming up -- >> okay, we're on the record now versus monique jeffries. >> monique jeffries learns if she will be going home or going to prison. and her mother has something to say about it. >> monique was born as a monster. ow hard it's gonna fall. (engine revs) the things it does to your parade. we've got a saying about rain, too: when it rains... it roars. the all-wheel-drive charger. domestic. not domesticated. get between you and life's dobeautiful moments.llergens flonase gives you more complete allergy relief.

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do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> frequent court appearances are common for jail inmates as most of them are still in the process of resolving their cases. for that reason the courthouse and jail at the louisville metro

department of corrections are housed within the same structure. and monique jeffries is in court today. she has already been convicted for assaulting her mother. in fact, she knocked out two of her mother's teeth and burned her with a curling iron. now she is about to be sentenced. >> all rise. >> please be seated. >> jeffries is optimistic that she will be allowed to leave jail on parole. her mother, debra brown, is also present in court. >> okay. >> okay, we're on the record now the case versus monique jeffries. >> before delivering his sentence, the judge allows jeffries to make a statement. >> okay, very good. five minutes, ms. jeffries. >> i would just like to say today that i have forgave myself for what i have done. i'm not a savage beast. i'm a human being. i will admit that it got a little bit out of hand, but i just didn't intentionally put my hands on her. i was provoked. i'm only protecting myself, and

i can't help it if i protect myself to where i'm not going to let anybody put their hands on me anymore. since my incarceration, i have a new religion as a muslim. i've learned more than i have as a christian. and being a muslim requires a whole lot of structure, and i finally found something that's really going to structure me and help me guide myself to be a better person. >> okay. thank you very much, ms. jeffries. okay, commonwealth? >> yes, thank you. debra brown, who is the mother, is here in the courtroom today, and i believe that she would like to address the court, and if the court would permit her, i'd ask her to come forward. >> all right. >> debra. >> yes, ma'am. >> monique done hit me, jumped on me four times within my lifetime. she is a beast. i still have nightmares to see her hands come down in my face.

she took both of my phones so i wouldn't call the police. she burned me on my arm with a hot curler. and her attitude, she went into her mode, oh, shut up, you're not hurt, your teeth wasn't no good anyway, you going to sit there and you going to let me hot curl my hair and get ready before you call the police. i had to give her a bus check to get out of my home and to leave, but she kept hot curling her hair. i asked her for my phones. she said, you keep on, i'm going to burn you. i grabbed for my phone while she stood there and hot-curled her hair. she kept laying the curlers on my arm. when she knocked my teeth out one at a time. she was hitting me so hard, i did like this. and she beat the daylights out of me. >> i understand it's -- >> and i can't take her beatings no more.

monique was wrong, sir. >> i understand. i don't want you to get too -- >> i'm her mother. i'm not her friend in the street. you don't hit your mother. you don't beat your mother. >> well, you don't do that to anybody. so okay. well, i appreciate your comments, ma'am. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> okay. well, you know, the court's heard from the defendant and from the victim. and it's immediately obvious to the court that there are a lot of very strong emotions involved here. but, ms. jeffries, i'm going to deny your motion for probation and impose a sentence at this time because i think that you have to accept responsibility for what you've done. so i wish you the best of luck and will impose a sentence of five years -- was that correct on this? >> five years, yes. >> so, ms. jeffries, i wish you the best of luck. >> now facing five years in state prison, jeffries was feeling less forgiving toward her mother and her decision to

press charges. >> you guys have probably one of the most -- >> [ bleep ] uppest relationship, yes. if she needed blood, i wouldn't give it to her. if she was on her dying bed, i wouldn't even go. i have forgave myself and god has forgaven me. so i'm done. >> monique was born as a monster. and i said i'm going to take this creature off the street because i created her. i hadn't seen her in two years, and i brought her back into my home. i'm embarrassed that my own child beat me the way she did. and that's all i got to say. bye.

we vel the latest. plus donald trump ends one false claim -- >> president barack obama was born in the united states period. >> and embraces new ones. >> hillary clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. i finished it. >> did he end it or did he just revive an issue that's bound to hurt pim. i'll talk to democratic vice

presidential nominee tim kaine and kellyanne conway. with the polls tightening, that's one way to describe what hillary clinton's supporters are feel. what's behind clinton's sinking numbers. joining me for insight and analysis are republican political strategist and "the new york times" columnist, maureen dodd, cornell belcher and nbc news correspondent katie tur. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning. americans woke up with yet another reminder that we're living under the threat of terror today. an explosion lat last night injuring 28 people. a pressure cooker bomb was found just four block to the north. richard engel who happened to be on the scene last night joins me

this morning. what can you tell us what we've learned about this incident this morning? >> reporter: well, it was a loud explosion. it didn't cause a great deal of damage. it shattered a lot of windows. it apparently went off inside a dumpster. some windows up as high as the further story windows up to the story were shattered. we're not seeing a lot of scorched ground, we're not seeing a huge crater. it seems to have been a crude explosive device. a few blocks from where i am, an unexploded device was located in a pressure cooker. it looked very homemade, the thing you could find the recipe for online. the investigation right now is f >> the investigation is focusing on the linkages. what may have been responsible. is it a group of people and a pipe bomb explosion that went off earlier in new jersey? so far it doesn't seem to have caused many