Page 9 - Cell Blocks News Today

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...

>> 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...

Prisons throughout california. >> here at san quentin i work 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 drug smuggling, and prevent illicit 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, admis...

Around it so it doesnt rip and youve got a weapon. this is deadly. >> a lot of people in here get hurt. >> die, too. some guy not too long ago got beat to death with lock socks, to death. sentenced as adults are incarcerated inside the massive wabash compound with adult prisoners kept separate in cell blocks. they are isolated from their adult counterparts and rarely leave their own cell block. >> this is like your whole life. ive spent five months in county and if they would have let me out 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 drug smuggling, and prevent illicit 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 gang member, they are shipped off to one of three ...

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 that call for you. youll find out when you get to the house. than...

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...

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...

>> yeah, i know that. >> ill come see you. that guy there is a straight killer machine. you know what hes in here for? they say he has aggravated discharge firearm on four people. hes a frequent flier. hes a regular here. >> theres a large number of inmates coming in, going out. its kind of like a revolving door. after coming in so many times, they end up building a rapport with a lot of our guys. >> what did you get? drugs? nah, you stay in here, man. >> as long as youre fair with these guys, y...

>> no, you aint walking. >> those particular charges that i charged the inmate with were insole lens, disobey ing a direct order, assault, he attempted to spit on me and turn around on me. this inmate will go to an adjustment hearing, a panel of hearing officers and plead his case against my disciplinary report that i give him and that will do whatever is just. >> reporter: while this inmate received an extended term in segregation, combative inmates risk suffering physical consequences as well....