Page 6 - Cell Blocks News Today

I have a history of repeated flashing. im like a serial flasher. this is my sixth conviction. i never flashed anyone younger than 13, but i have predelation for, like, 13 to 18, somewhere in the danger zone for me. i follow the danger zone where its jail, very, very risky. >> [ bleep ]. >> theres my neighbors right now. they know about me. thats why theyre making noise. >> throughout other cell blocks, voices echo and can be heard by other inmates. thats why most sex offenders dont speak openly ...

Flashing. im like a serial flasher. this is my sixth conviction. i never flashed anyone younger than 13, but i have predelation for, like, 13 to 18, somewhere in the danger zone for me. i follow the danger zone where its jail, very, very risky. >> [ bleep ]. >> theres my neighbors right now. they know about me. thats why theyre making noise. >> throughout other cell blocks, voices echo and can be heard by other inmates. thats why most sex offenders dont speak openly about their crimes. >> now, a...

Another one of their functions is to validate an inmates gang affiliation. >> you need three identifiers to validate a gang member. tattoos, known association with another gang member, admission and if they are a validated gang member, they are shipped off to one of three prisons throughout the state. >> those three prisons contain 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 indeterminatel...

The state. >> those three prisons contain 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 shu. 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...

>> 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 more prisons. they want to keep us down...

This joint here aint like the rest of them. when i first got here in 84, convicts used to run this joint. the man runs this joint now. 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 m...

>> 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 polly klaas. today, the condemne...

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 makes it very difficult to ...

This is where reality sets in. >> you are going to the max, you know that, right? that guy there is a straight killing machine. you know what hes in here for? aggravated discharge of a firearm on four people. hes a frequent flyer, a regular here. >> theres a large number of inmates coming in, going out. it is kind of like a revolving door. they are coming in so many times they are building a prepair with a lot of our guys. >> drugs? you are staying here, man. as long as youre fair with the guys,...

For a unit called the investigative services unit. the inmates call us the goon squad. >> the specially trained officers assigned to these units are constantly working to intercept gang communications and disrupt plans for violence drug smuggling, and other elicit activities. another one of their functions is to validate an inmates gang affiliation. >> you need three identifiers to validate a gang member. tattoos, known association with another gang member, admission and if they are a validated ...