Page 7 - Raul Leon News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Staff protected from the inmates. if i open the wrong door at the wrong time, staff or inmates can be injured. and that is -- becomes all my fault. i cannot blame anybody else. >> to prevent bloodshed, gang activity must be strictly monitored and documented by every correctional officer at pelican bay. one of the most notorious inmates serving time in the shu is raul leon, a reputed leader of the mexican mafia. >> whatever it is, lockup or the violence or the madness, the murders, the rants, that's just -- you grow up in that. so this prison has never affected me like that and i don't think it...

Same reason military recruits youngsters, you are invulnerable then, you're immortal. after you hit 30 or so, well, the picture is a little different. >> it's trying to start this program called mentors for mex about educating society and enlightening them on the criminal activity of the gangs. gangs are like cockroaches. they're always going to be around. but hopefully by having actual people who were actual members of these organizations, if we can enlighten them on some of these activities, hopefully we can help curb a lot of their activities and make our community safer. >> but while leavi...

To me is just a crock of [ bleep ]. it's just a scam. it's individuals just trying to play the last card they have, saying, hey, you know what? i got to get out of here. the only thing good about them debriefers and rats is that they could never return back to their neighborhoods. they're ostracized. >> leon's anger is aimed at men like miguel perez, once a high-ranking member of the mexican mafia himself. perez had already left the gang several years before we met him, and he's not looked back. >> as for what soured myself on the gang life, in all honesty is i opened my eyes to see it for wha...

>> serving a life sentence for murder, leon lives in what is widely regarded as the most restrictive environment in the state of california -- pelican bay security housing unit or shu. inmates are confined to their cells for all but 90 minutes per day, which they're allowed to spend in a nearby concrete exercise area. leon had been living here for 14 years when we met him. >> i always tell people, they ain't built a prison hard enough to break me, you know? and some of us are stronger than others. i think that's what pelican bay is about. only the strongest are the ones that are going to make ...

>> what have we got right now, 43 inmates in here, i'm responsible for keeping them protected from one another. i'm responsible for keeping the staff protected from the inmates. if i open the wrong door at the wrong time, staff or inmates can be injured. and that is -- becomes all my fault. i cannot blame anybody else. >> to prevent bloodshed, gang activity must be strictly monitored and documented by every correctional officer at pelican bay. one of the most notorious inmates serving time in the shu is raul leon, a reputed leader of the mexican mafia. >> whatever it is, lockup or the violence...