Page 54 - Cell Block News Today

But present a unique challenge for "lockup" crews. >> it is action. its real action. the only thing that you have to be careful of, you dont want to piss off the cell block. kind of run the risk of alienating the very guys youre trying to extract stories and cooperation from. so, we always hope that if there is going to be a raid, that its towards the end of our tour at the prison. >> but tv crew concerns are the last thing on the minds of these officers. what they uncover can be the difference ...

>> you could go into somebodys heart, pop a jugular vein, take an eyeball out. >> then clear the evidence. >> then you clear the evidence. and your work station is clean. >> there was a slashing over badger section, involved hispanics. the hispanics are now on lockdown. actually theyve got the entire badger section on lockdown. >> our crew was at san quentin just hours after an inmate was slashed across the face with a shank. the attacker was identified and put in administrative segregation for ...

See this? it says -- the poem is heres a special flower to say i love and miss you. made from 14 little squares of prison toilet tissue. finding new and different ways to make you laugh or smile makes running out of toilet paper almost seem worthwhile. and people, they actually put them in the letter, send it home. nice little thing. but i make -- i should make two bucks off this tonight so i can smoke a cigarette later. thats what its all about. >> cigarettes are expensive, huh? >> $2 a cigaret...

Each have -- have a virginia businessman who has accepted promotions for a mcdonnell is estranged. its also the first -- have been found guilty of felonies and arelikely to go to business. this is not the kind of history virginialikes to make. >> mcdonnell was ordered to report to prison by february 9. >> she plans to start the appeals process as soon as tomorrow and his lawyers hope he never sees the inside of a cell block. >> so what do you think? do you think mcdonnells sentence is appropriat...

And anywhere i go that it looks like it has the potential, ill always ask, do you have any ghosts around? in new mexico they had a lot in the old prison. >> when we shot at the penitentiary of new mexico, major dean lopez took us to the old main. a now-abandoned building that used to be the heart of the prison before it was replaced with a state-of-the-art facility. >> this is where most of the murders from the riot took place, was this cell block right here. >> the old main was the site of a 19...

First, the emergency response team marches to the cell block in full riot gear. armed with high voltage stunt shields. they secure the area and provide an intimidating presence for any inmates who might be tempted to resist. then a team of correctional officers moves into the cells to begin their inspections. >> the last time they came in here, went in everybodys cell and took everything out their cell and threw it on the tier. after they was done, there was 48 peoples property mixed newspaper t...

Voluntarily by the inmate, hes refused, so a cell extraction team is called. >> when they are called, it is meaning that they are going to forcibly remove an uncooperative inmate from the cell. and when you see them all suited up in riot gear and face masks, you see the seriousness of the threat and the danger it could pose. they let us follow at a safe distance. >> inside the cell block, they give him one last chance to comply. >> okay. im only going to ask you one time to comply, and if you do...

>> i aint got nothing do with the assault. when the assault took place, i was on the stairs when an inmate ran by me. i could have easily been mistaken, and thats what i believe, that i was mistaken, that they thought that by me being pushed aside, that i was believed to be the one who assaulted him. >> inmates who saw the assault and provided statements remain anonymous in hearings like this, but it is up to the judge to determine the credibility. >> do you have any enemies in the institution, ...

>> do you have any enemies in the institution, in the cell block, mr. bullock? >> no, i dont. >> tell me things people would make up about you. >> people i gamble with. >> who are they? >> im not going to disclose their names. >> well, i am trying to help you with your defense. >> well, if -- >> excuse me. if you provide names that may not be credible and if you choose not to provide those names, that is up to you. >> how can i defend myself with a report when you say theres a weapon involved, b...

Facility in colorado, we met inmates who have had more permanent transformations. aaron cooper, serving 10 years for assault and escape, didnt stretch his ear lobes until he got to prison. >> did it about four years ago when i was in ad seg. no reason, really. i just like the way it looked. it started with the tooth of a comb and started wrapping saran wrap about it and got it fatter and fatter. this was bigger than i wanted to go, but these were the only things that were round enough that when ...