(laura) the state of california has 33 prisons housing 165,000 inmates.

prison officials have one set of rules for the inmates but the inmates have their own rules. these rules are dictated and enforced by seven prison gangs. how much violence in the prison is due to the prison gangs, and orders from the gang members? >>i would say all of it. i would say. >>how dangerous is it in the prisons because of these prison gangs? >>death. it's dangerous. these gang members, who run these yards, who run these institutions, by the snap of a finger, you can be contracted for death. (laura) the prison gangs are the mexican mafia, the aryan brotherhood, nuestra familia nazi low riders, the northern structure, the texas syndicate and the black guerrilla family. but unlike street gangs, prison gangs don't even admit that they exist and don't let the tens of thousands of inmates that they

control talk about them either. >>the mexican mafia, if you ask any inmate, what's the mexican mafia, they're going to tell you, "what are you talking about, i never even heard of that." >>does that go for all the other prison gangs in addition to the mexican mafia? >>the majority of them, yes. (laura) so the best way to get information is by going to what's known as a drop-out yard. so you can see that there are more people out on this yard and that's because this yard houses gang drop-outs. >>you're going to see blacks and whites talking. you'll see 'em, they play basketball in a mixed forum. i mean, you can see 'em, even out on the handball court, you see a hispanic and a black. so you'll see them talking more than you would on any other yard. (laura) but even here, it can be hard to get a conversation going. do you mind if we talk with you? >>i do. >>you do? okay, thanks.

>>naw, i'm all right. >>thank you. (man) you're chasing everyone around the yard, eh? (laura) finally we had some luck. >>what kind of insight are you guys looking for? >>what's that? >>what kind of insight are you guys looking for? >>life. >>prison life in general? >>where you from? >>from san jose. >>any gang affiliation? >>gang affiliation used to be pretty heavy. the gang affiliation here there's none as you know. this particular yard here if for people who want to change for the better. there's nothing but deceit and deception in gang affiliation. >>who did you used to affiliate with? >>the nf, nuestra familia.

i was a two-star general. i first got affiliated with the nf in 1984, in old folsom. i did a lot of groundwork for them, a lot of soldiering for them. it was all in vain. i became a two-star general and sat in pelican bay shu for nine-and-a-half years. accomplished zero. >>what was the appeal back then? what was the appeal? >>to conquer and run every drug trade, including prostitution, in prison. because as you know, there's he-shes here. it was a struggle to organize not only the struggle inside here, but also outside. having your foot soldiers going collecting, extortion, prostitution, robberies, any means to come up with money. (laura) one way to come up with money is to sell drugs. any drug that's available on the

streets can also be found in prison. and over here, we have... >>some of the drugs that we've confiscated. >>marijuana. methamphetamine. cocaine. heroin. tar heroin. so how do they get this stuff in? >>visitors, normally. that's the number one source of getting drugs into the institution, is through visiting. the visitors will secret it on their person, or in their person, and when they come on to the visiting room, take it out hand it off, and the inmate will either swallow it or keister it to bring it back to the yard. that's why it's in balloons. >>right here, you can see the photos. most of them are women, and that's because they were people who were visiting inmates here and they were busted because they were bringing in some sort of contraband. someone was busted for bringing in heroin, meth, meth, heroin, heroin, marijuana, meth, the list just goes on and on. and, as a result, all these people also ended up in prison.

>>before, there was a cause. if i got out, when i paroled in '86, in '88 when i paroled, my people looked after me. they gave me $10,000. they gave me a pound of whatever type of drug i wanted and a car. that was the brotherhood. that was the carnalismo but that was then. now i'm going to do my best to talk you out of your address and go and visit your wife while you're still in here. that's the cause now. it's worthless. >>so what do you want to ask? >>where you from maurice? >>i'm from norco, california. >>norco. >>riverside. >>how long you been here? >>seven years. >>at corcoran? >>i been in corcoran in the shu for three years, and i just got

on this yard. >>when did you come out here? >>a month ago. >>so you were in solitary for three straight years. >>for seven years. >>for seven years. what was it like in there? >>it was pretty bad. >>what got you into solitary? >>gangs. i was in a gang. >>which one? >>nlr. >>nazi low rider. >>and aryan brotherhood. i was affiliated with both. >>and then you dropped out? >>yes. i gave all that stuff up. i'm going home in a couple of months. >>congratulations. >>what was it like being in it? >>being in a gang? >>yeah. >>well. can you see my face? >>what happened? >>i got stab wounds all over my body? >>can you show me? >>yeah. >>right there. wow. >>did that all happen here in prison? (man) when you were in a gang,

was most of the violence from your gang or from other gangs. >>both, both. we get into it with the blacks mexicans. sometimes the mexicans and the whites, the southern mexicans and the whites collaborate to get the blacks and the norteños. it comes from all areas you know, different people fighting against each other. >>what do you have to do to rise in the ranks? >>well, you got to make a name for yourself. i stabbed people like people stabbed me so i deserved what i got. fortunately i never killed anybody. that's on my conscience too, i feel bad about that. i'm 37 years old now and i'm done with all this stuff. >>it's also a big decision. >>big decision. >>now, are you threatened by dropping out?

>>yeah. i'm wanted by everybody. >>you have this, it's what's being call, roll call. it's being sent out of a lockup unit or ad seg, or what's known as the hole. this right here is a list of names of inmate in good standings with the gang. this is a list of white inmates. these inmates here are loyal to and sympathize with the prison politics set forth by the aryan brotherhood. they'll sharpen the pen filler and when it's real fine then they're able to use the pen and write real small letters. >>all my racial love and respect. >>that's a white inmate writing

that. >>want to see this? this stupid stuff. (man) like you're a white guy, you show up in prison, someone comes up to you and goes, these are the rules? >>yeah. pretty much. yeah. you got a set of rules that you got to go by. and if you cross that line then you're in trouble. >>what are some of those rules? >>oh, you don't drink after blacks. you can't even sit and eat with them. >>this yard is different though. it's like people are intermixing. >>yeah. there's no colors out here. >>will you sit with a black guy now? >>yeah, i don't have no problems. i'm done with all that stuff. i look at a guy how he treats me and if he acts like a man then i got no problem with him. i don't care what color he is. i'm not into none of that stuff. (laura) at the end of the day, i met teddy.

he's an ex-follower of the most notorious prison gang, the mexican mafia, or eme, which controls latino inmates from southern california. >>so if you're mexican, and you're in prison, you automatically--. >>have to be affiliated. pretty much. >>so how violent is it out on the other side, on the other yards? >>when i was in solano, i was in like nine different riots. and that's another reason that i chose, you know, because i went there i only had like four years, but i ended up doing-- instead of only doing two i ended up doing all four of it. just for getting in riots with different races, blacks, stuff like that. i went to the hole like three or four times. i'd being laying in the hole like you know, an extra six months added on my sentence, just laying there thinking, what the hell did i do this for, for some people i don't even know? >>like leaders you never even met. >>yeah, stuff like that. for a cause like i didn't even know what i was doing. but in order to just go with the flow, that's what i'd be doing you know.

>>and this was for eme. >>for eme. yeah. like i remember one time, i was asked to remove this guy from the yard because there was a riot on the yard, and he didn't involve himself in it. he wasn't there to back up the homies and stuff, so they came to me and they were like, "hey ted, can you handle this and don't trip, because the homies are going to much appreciate it and look out for you." i was like, all right. i got to do what i go to do, right? i'll just go do it. so i went to the yard, and i beat his ass, and i took him to the hole, and he got his little whooping in there and stuff like that was like his punishment. >>who's in control? you or them? >>oh, they're in control. it's a catch-up game. because action's faster than reaction. we can only react to what they do. (laura) drop-outs are segregated from the rest of the inmates for their own protection. but prison gangs are powerful because they also have influence on the streets. >>are you in danger because you dropped out?

>>i don't know. yeah. >>what will happen if you run into your old gang out, on the outside. >>oh, they'll try to kill me. yeah, they'll definitely try to kill me. >>fate leads them who will. those who won't, it drags. that's what's happening here. we're all dragging on one leg right now. we're all crippled. we're all handicapped right now. but for those of us like myself who got a date, what we do with it is yet to be seen. my hope is to better my life and stay free and die free. i don't want no riches, i just want to die free. is on the new news network. >>welcome to the war room. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. a former two-term governor. >>make your voice heard.

>>detremined to find solutions. >>that partnership in order to invest in our country is critical. >>driven to find the truth. >>how did romney get his groove back? >>fearless, independent and above all, politically direct.

only one who thinks an amendment to the constitution may be in order. that's next on "the war room."

what percentage of the crimes occur because of gangs? >>oh, 95 percent. most everybody in here is part of a gang. not everybody, but most. i mean that's how you survive. and of course, they prey on the weak, and if you don't belong to a faction or a gang, then you're going to get picked on. so it would be in their best interests to. >>what group is the most powerful? >>can i say? this institution is ran by the mexican mafia. so they have a lot of power in here. of course, they side with the aryan brotherhood and we have some of those here also. us, pelican bay, and tehachapi house all the prison gang members. the street gangs are run by the fellows in the back, the prison gang members. >>"guys in the back" is a polite way of referring to guys locked in solitary confinement in the shu? >>yeah. (laura) i just don't want them to get too unruly. (man) let's do it really fast.

they can see us, though. (laura) i know. i think people are going to start stripping or something. uhm. over here, you can see that these guys are locked up in cages. that's because this is what's known as the shu, the security housing unit. this is for the most violent offenders. people don't get stuck in these isolation units because of what they do on the streets they get stuck in here because of violent acts they've committed inside prison. it's amazing because we've been hearing about the power structure that goes on in the prison. people will be answering orders that come from the top. and the top means guys who are locked up here, these guys who are totally locked up in isolation. the mexican mafia, nuestra familia, texas syndicate, aryan brotherhood, nazi low riders black guerilla family these are the prison gangs that control what happens to the prison and the prison community and the leaders are, in these cages.

california has 33 prisons, but only three shus to isolate prison gang leaders once they've been identified. you have to wonder how can these people hold so much power when they're locked up in these isolation units. and what we've been told is that there are ways to do everything-- you can pass messages, they have telephone calls with family members, they get to meet with family members. and those messages that they send get trickled down into the larger prison community and even onto the streets. ♪ we're heading out to these isolation units to see if we can talk to some of the inmates, but we've been told not to turn on the camera before we get their permission.

that's because some of the leaders of these prison gangs and the most notorious gangs the mexican mafia are located. (man) good luck. >>let's try. guards with rifles in watchtowers looked over as we walked out onto the isolation yard. (man) so we have to be on this side, so the gunner's-- >>so the gunner's can see us from this building. (laura) i started talking with two guys who said they were in the shu because they'd been slandered-- falsely accused of being in neustra familia, the prison gang that controls latino inmates from northern california. but we aren't able to air the interview because the inmates refused to sign a release to be on camera. somebody told him? >>he was just told that

he has to be quiet. >>so no one else is going to talk? >>nope. >>so we can't use that, [bleep]. so we were just talking to a couple of guys in these cells, and we started asking them about the political situation in prison. and if they're affiliated with gangs, prison gangs, and they definitely wanted to shy away from that question. they got a message from one of the other cells to quit talking and we're going to see if anyone else will talk to us. what's your name? >>phillips, but my nickname's diamond. >>phillips, aka diamond. nice to meet you. thanks for talking to us. how long have you been in the shu? >>they put me in the shu under black guerrilla family, and i'm like, what? i'm a crip, through and through. but that title will hold me in the shu until i can come up with some way to get out. >>tell me about the difference

between being a crip and being the black guerrilla family. >>well, in essence, the black guerrilla family is more focused on a race type of unity and is more in the bay area. but crips, we came from l.a. and our main enemies was black on black, and it wasn't about no race. so it was a whole different culture. >>you said that you have a lot of power in the prison system and influence-- with the crips and you're trying to use that for good. how are you able to have that influence from inside the shu, and how do you communicate with the other crips inside the prison? >>i've been in here for 16 years. i've learned different languages, different methods of communication. it ain't about overpowering them physically, i kind of overpower them with logic, and say, okay what's going to work?

and that's what led to maybe, a little influence. of course, i'm incarcerated for violence 15 years ago, but just having influence they pegged me as being violent to this day. >>so this is the inside of one of these modules. and these guys are allowed to come out here for about 10 hours a week, 10 hours every seven days. (man) what's it like here in the winter? >>but do you still come out? even when it's that cold? again, we couldn't use the audio from this conversation because the inmates wouldn't give their permission. we work for a show called current. it airs on cable. can we talk to you guys over there? over by your cell right there.

about life. (man) it's pretty different here than on the main yard where we were yesterday. (laura) no one else would talk on camera. in the far cells were inmates from the mexican mafia. they wouldn't even talk off-camera. they just stared as we passed. >>that guy was scary. the guy in the very last cell. my god, his eyes. he's like...

>>this is outrageous! [[vo]]cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the rest of the media seems like, "ho-hum, no big deal." we've have no choice, we've lost our democracy here. just refreshing to hear.

no other television show does that. we're keeping it real.

we're heading into the security housing unit, also known as the shu. this is where the most violent offenders as well as the known prison gang leaders are locked up. >>these doors will never remain open. because the other three doors, here the sections, they open right now they're getting prepared to walk into the tiers. they got the face shields, the gloves. they're going to do a security check. >>why do they have to put the shield and the gloves on? >>from protection from the gassing assaults. these inmates that are located in this area, they will do stab assaults, they will throw feces, throw urine. so it's for their protection. they have their stab-proof vests on. they put the gloves on and the

face shield. >>what sorts of things do the inmates do when you guys are in there? >>well, they can spit at us. make weapons out of newspaper. roll them up and then they can stab us through as we open the food ports. shoot it through there. they can make bow and arrow out of it. they're creative. i would say that anything you can think of, they can make in here. >>we'll stand by the door. let them do their tier tour. and then once they come down we'll have them go in the cell with us, okay? >>okay. [door opening] (laura) we were only allowed to enter because most inmates from this section where out in isolation units on the yard for a couple of hours. these guys are conducting a

basic security search. and they're giving signals to a man up above me. and we can't film that, but he's controlling the doors and keeping watch in case anything happens over here. so we have to do this very quickly. but we're going to go into one of the cells, just to see what it's like. and we're going to go in and out. this is the shu, the security housing unit. these guys are locked up here, almost 24/7. they only leave for about 10 hours every week. as you can see, the furniture is just all concrete. these are their beds. there's two to a cell. and there's not much more. there's a tv that they have. and obviously, they get some sort of entertainment from their

posters. >>tv's have to have clear plastic cases to make it more difficult to conceal drugs or weapons. no toilet seats because they can be made into weapons. okay. [door closing] we've been hearing that this whole system, this prison system, is based on fear. and the fear is the fear of these men who are in these cages. these are the men who are in control, even though they are locked in these cells. they still have a lot of power. and you can even feel it when you walk past their cells. and you look into their eyes you can kind of get a sense of the power that they actually hold. >>how do you control this? >>there is no control. they control. we just try to do what we can do

to manage. we try to deter some of the drugs coming in. or stop some of the violence when we get the information prior to. but that's all we can do, try. (laura) in california prison system, almost the only time you see inmates of different races or ethnic groups sharing a cell, is on the day they are waiting to be paroled. so the minute you guys arrived in prison you pretty much had to be aligned with your gang affiliation. >>gang affiliation and my race. >>all three of you guys-- you guys are all three different races. if you weren't getting out today, you wouldn't be in the same cell. would you be interacting? >>probably speaking. but if something were to happen. things happen. >>and that's just the way it works. you gotta line up with somebody,

and you go with your own. >>pretty much. that's the way of prison life. if you choose to go on your own, it'll backfire on you. (man) do you guys ever worry that the kind of politics that happen in here, could like affect outside in california? >>it's already taken place. >>how does that work? how does the politics of the prisons translate into what happens out on the streets? >>want to answer that? >>a lot of the politics, as far as race is concerned unfortunately transfer to the streets. and it's a reality. (man) you think there's more problems out on the streets now than 10 years ago? >>yes. >>yes. (man) really? >>yes. definitely. >>and you would be fighting other hispanic gangs, out on the street. >>as of 10 years ago, yes.

nowadays, no. nowadays it has gotten racial. >>so now you'd be fighting black gangs. >>yeah. >>so there's less violence on the street toward your own group than it is toward other groups. >>that doesn't sound so good for california. >>no. >>it doesn't sound good for humanity period. >>venezuela. [man calling out numbers] stand by the bus please. mr. jenkins. [man calling out numbers] by the bus. mr. smith. [man calling out numbers] out there, by the bus.