http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/15/earlyshow/main6583838.shtml
"The prison (currently housing van der Sloot) is one of the toughest prisons, along with Lurigancho," Griffith says. "I've been in prisons in over two dozen countries. In fact, I was the lawyer for Billy Hayes from the movie 'Midnight Express,' and the Turkish prison is a Ritz-Carlton compared to this.
"There's about 10,000 prisoners for 3,000 spaces. This and another prison where he's gonna go afterwards, Lurigancho, has dormitories of about 600 prisoners in each. The showers run once a week for 15 minutes. There's only 12 showers. They're in rooms of about 25-by-15 (feet) with about 35 prisoners. About seven or eight sleep on the floor. There's a hole for a toilet.
"And it's a very, very brutal place."
Can van der Sloot live out his sentence, assuming he's convicted and however long it runs?
"It's gonna be really tough. In Miguel Castro Castro, believe it or not, the first day the warden took his position there about a year or two ago, he was murdered.
"In Lurigancho, you have the Shining Path guerillas. There's about 600 of them. They had a revolt one day, about 124 were killed by the police. When I went to visit a client of mine there, I had to hire two-guards to walk me through the Shining Path guerilla territory. The next day, I thought it would be better if my client visited me in the holding area - in the visiting area. And a prisoner got stabbed ten feet away from me. If he wants to survive there, he's really gonna hafta keep a low profile.
"He's gonna probably have to stay in what's called 'the tourist section,' or 'the tourist dorm.' But even prisoners outside can get in there. They shine shoes, they cook for the foreign prisoners. But in this prison, you can get anything -- you can get women, drug, weapons, you can get money. For $50, someone will cut your throat. If the family of this young lady wanted to pay a prisoner there 50 or 100 bucks, they'd be standing in line to cut his throat."
In turn, could van der Sloot's family pay prisoners to protect him?
"No," Griffith said bluntly. "I mean, if they want to get you in this prison, they'll get you. In fact, the day that I was there, I got back to the gate a little bit late and the guard wanted to keep me in overnight. So for a couple of cigarettes, he let me out.
"Money will get you anything in this prison and I'll tell you, I'd be very surprised if van der Sloot makes the seven or eight or ten years, whatever he'll get, with time off for good behavior.
