Page 4 - Cell Blocks News Today

Inefficient design. officers are always having to climb stairs. >> where are the elevators? >> were the elevators. a human elevator. >> but at its worst, the design of san quentins cell blocks expose officers to inmate assault. >> with the age of the building, the way its set up, almost anything you do, youre in direct contact with the inmates. >> hey how are you doing? >> when its time for the inmates to go to the showers or the dining hall, an entire tier is released simultaneously. and astoni...

>> starting with your right thumb, roll your fingers. >> eating. >> in an effort to avoid violent confrontations later, every inmate is evaluated and classified according to his history of violence outside and inside the penal system. >> enemies? >> none. >> gang-banger? >> share a cell with another man, no problem? >> its all right with me. >> okay. thank you. >> as long as youre compatible. >> i wish we could make that call for you. youll find out when you get to the house. thank you. >> flore...

Gassed like i was back in 92. >> incredible as it may seem, officers at san quentin say that theres an attempted assault on their lives almost every day. >> they look for vulnerable spots. they look for times when you do let your guard down. >> this is death row. in fact, this is californias only male death row where the method of execution is lethal injection. this is where youll find such vicious killers as richard ramirez, the so-called night stalker, and richard allen davis, the killer of po...

What i mean by the man is the system. >> we run the prison. we have the towers. we have the fences. and we keep control of the inmates. >> to crack down on contraband and violence, usp instituted a policy of controlled movement. no two cell blocks are ever in the same common areas at the same time. >> things are changing over there. this place now, its that new mentality with get tough on crime. its kind of working, man, because, you know, they dont mess around no more, man. they want to build m...

Move on. >> they get their hair cut. then theyre photographed and fingerprinted. >> starting with your right thumb, roll your fingers. >> eating. >> in an effort to avoid violent confrontations later, every inmate is evaluated and classified according to his history of violence outside and inside the penal system. >> enemies? >> none. >> gang-banger? >> share a cell with another man, no problem? >> its all right with me. >> okay. thank you. >> as long as youre compatible. >> i wish we could make...

Stacked on tiers five high. at its best, this is an inefficient design. officers are always having to climb stairs. >> where are the elevators? >> were the elevators. a human elevator. >> but at its worst, the design of san quentins cell blocks expose officers to inmate assault. >> with the age of the building, the way its set up, almost anything you do, youre in direct contact with the inmates. >> hey how are you doing? >> when its time for the inmates to go to the showers or the dining hall, a...

Ability to handle them. this forced death row to expand into three additional cell blocks, never designed for such violent inmates. >> okay. we have one escort coming through. >> having worked at san quentin for 25 years, warden jeanne woodford understands the challenges that confront death row. >> as the number of condemned come in, its just created a situation with this physical plant, with the open cell fronts, their ability to communicate with each other and pass on gang information just mak...

Californias most restrictive cell blocks. theyre known as security housing units or the shu. one is located at pelican bay. >> many of them are in here indeterminately. theyll never leave shu until a committee decides they are not a part of a gang anymore. >> this officer works at the facility. he told us a simple lapse on his part could result in gang warfare. >> if i were to pop two doors at the same time and they were, the mexican-american from los angeles and a mexican-american from sacramen...

At its best, this is an inefficient design. officers are always having to climb stairs. >> where are the elevators? >> were the elevators. a human elevator. >> but at its worst, the design of san quentins cell blocks expose officers to inmate assault. >> with the age of the building, the way its set up, almost anything you do, youre in direct contact with the inmates. >> hey how are you doing? >> when its time for the inmates to go to the showers or the dining hall, an entire tier is released si...

Id rather be stabbed than to be gassed like i was back in 92. >> incredible as it may seem, officers at san quentin say that theres an attempted assault on their lives almost every day. >> they look for vulnerable spots. they look for times when you do let your guard down. >> this is death row. in fact, this is californias only male death row where the method of execution is lethal injection. this is where youll find such vicious killers as richard ramirez, the so-called night stalker, and richa...