Page 2 - Cellblock 5 News Today

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Yards down the tiers. >> sergeant rudy carmella supervises cellblock 5, one of the oldest operating prison structures in the united states. >> to walk up to a cell, to look -- to see what is going on, you have to sometimes look inside. so it puts us at close proximity to whomever, whatever is in here. sometimes it could be dangerous. he could spear you through these holes, and they make the antiquated type out of a newspaper with a blade at the end of it. very simply it could be done, stab you i...

Folsom state prison is more than 120 years old, and as a result, the facilities are a patchwork of prison technology. for example, arriving inmates are kept track of by a modern computer database while officers on duty keep track of their weapons and keys by using a more low-tech method. some inmates will be housed in world war ii-era cellblocks where each tier is visible from the ground floor. others will do their time in the dungeon-like confinement of cellblock 5. its a place where the sun ne...

>> i had a back injury first, stabbed. >> i was assaulted by an inmate in handcuffs. >> i was stabbed seven times. >> if you show the inmates fear, then theyre going to go ahead and feed on it. >> keeping that fear in control can be difficult inside this 100-year-old prison because what was state of the art at the turn of a previous century is now the biggest challenge to the officers safety. when we return, cellblock 5, the most notorious cellblock inside folsom.

Impressionable one, and the thing is i was basically the one who took the fall. so if you can just -- its kind of a -- its sad. i get -- i still get choked up thinking about it because i wish i could just take everything back. coming up -- tension boils over in the yard between inmates in the same gang. ♪ take me into your darkest hour ♪ ♪ and ill never desert you ♪ ♪ ill stand by you yeaaaah! yeah. so thats our loyalty program. youre automatically enrolled, and the longer you stay, ...

>> you become a walking dead man in here. you understand what im saying? youre a walking dead man. aint nobody really see you. its like the old saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. >> 33-year-old inmate herman johnson is doing 12 years for a felony drug conviction. he is currently housed in cellblock 5. >> in here you lose a lot of things on the outside. and you really find out a lot about people by coming to prison, you know. >> paul poplin has been to prison several times over the last ten ...

Suit, youd never guess i was in prison. so -- you cant judge an individual by just looking at him. you have to get to know him, bottom line. >> one mistake, no juvenile, criminal history, no drinking in public or anything like that. one mistake. one mistake. and all because i was being a follower and not a leader. i was an impressionable kid who just thought he would never get in trouble. >> bryan thomas cello has been at folsom for ten years. he was sentenced when he was 21. >> i committed a cr...

For all of the scrutiny over things inmates are not allowed to have, one of the things some of the inmates are allowed is conjugal visits. well chain-linked fence and barbed wire are made available for family visits for inmates who are eligible and demonstrate good behavior. >> in other words, i behaved myself well enough to get out from behind the wall. >> gordon simpson was sentenced to 5 1/2 years for receiving stolen property. he has 2 1/2 years left, and his wife, barbara, is allowed to vis...

So -- you cant judge an individual by just looking at him. you have to get to know him, bottom line. >> one mistake, no juvenile, criminal history, no drinking in public or anything like that. one mistake. one mistake. and all because i was being a follower and not a leader. i was an impressionable kid who just thought he would never get in trouble. >> bryan thomas cello has been at folsom for ten years. he was sentenced when he was 21. >> i committed a crime of kidnap/robbery, jewelry store own...

Shines. >> you become a walking dead man in here. you understand what im saying? youre a walking dead man. aint nobody really see you. its like the old saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. >> 33-year-old inmate herman johnson is doing 12 years for a felony drug conviction. he is currently housed in cellblock 5. >> in here you lose a lot of things on the outside. and you really find out a lot about people by coming to prison, you know. >> paul poplin has been to prison several times over the l...