and by the time they let me go i know that you will all be gone because i m doing time free us. free us. free us. it s clear that san quentin, california s oldest prison, is decrepit and in serious need of an overhaul. after years of debate, state officials say they are planning a nearly quarter of a billion renovation of the death row facility. the plan has numerous critics who argue the expensive renovation is only a temporary solution and that the new facility would be at capacity within a year of opening. but with an appeals process that averages 20 years and about 30 inmates added yearly to a death row that was originally built for 68, overcrowding continues to be a serious problem. currently, there are nearly 700 people waiting for execution. that s our report.
the feeding of inmates always poses one of the greatest risks for violence at san quentin. san quentin s lack of modernization places inmates within striking distance of officers and other inmates. among the 6,000 inmates at san quentin, more than 3,000 general population inmates eat their meals in the dining hall. only a handful of officers oversee the process. on most nights there will be two officers in the dining hall. there will be anywhere from like 200 to 400 inmates in the dining hall. and there s no guns in any dining hall. and all we have is our pepper spray and baton and our communications skills. this is known as mark 46. it sprays pepper spray. controls any kind of disturbance we may have during feeding, after feeding, during escort, inmates coming in and out of the dining hall.
and worse yet, a lack of modernization has put officers in constant risk of inmate attack. every day i walk through those gates, the thought crosses my mind. is today going to be the last? the grounds are a sprawling 432 acres located on the shores of beautiful san francisco bay. customers! this is the receiving and release area of san quentin state prison. every inmate that enters or exits san quentin will come through this area right here. come on, step up. you cannot get into san quentin nor can you leave san quentin without coming through this area. move on. when inmates first arrive, they are strip-searched. spread your cheeks. move on. they get their hair cut. then they re photographed and fingerprinted.
the prison is more than 150 years old. the walls are crumbling. and the institution is outdated, contributing to an overwhelming increase in both the number and severity of brutal assaults by inmates. during the next hour, you will witness life inside san quentin, including a look inside california s vicious death row. san quentin opened in 1852 and today, seems physically trapped in the century in which it was conceived. old and decrepit, san quentin is riddled with shadowy alcoves and blind spots. there are no electrified, lethal fences. the towers around the perimeter must still be staffed where, incredibly, there are fewer surveillance cameras than a single convenience store.
it s just there to be felt. you can tell it and many people smiling, laughing. everybody is circulating. you know what i mean? you can honestly tell, people whispering and talking. this is how it goes. and those are the first things the signs. you come to learn in the penitentiary. inmates must be even more aware of their environment than an officer. for them, it s all about survival of the fittest. using your vibes and looking at the motions and the actions to people from a distance. something is not right. something is not right. so, we ve got to watch this here. the northern hispanics are our main gang here at san quentin. it s because they re better organized. if you look at the yard, it looks like the blacks control more of the yard. but the blacks are all fragmented into different gang groups. when the northerners, no matter what gang they re in on the street, when they get here, they re one group, and they all stick together. then the border brothers run this area