in san quentin. and officers gather in the courtyard for a briefing regarding recent assaults they feel may be related. so they've organized an extensive cell search for hidden, makeshift weapons. >> this is how we're going to do it. we're going to do a search line right there in the rotunda. >> come on down. >> pat them all down. have them take off their shoes. they might be packing on the way in here. they'll be searched and fed. >> after breakfast, the inmates are moved to the yards where they will stay until officers can complete their search. >> we're looking for makeshift weapons. bed spreads, anything with razors. anything they can slash these guys with or even stab them with. >> the operation is broken up into several two-person teams. >> i guess i'll get the top, huh? >> you get the top. you're the tall guy. >> officers david hamilton and meagan mcgee each have years of experience at second-guessing where inmates like to hide contraband. >> okay. i found two razors that were removed. the bla

when we shot there, robert ayers was san quentin's warden. >> we are grossly overcrowded. which is just totally unacceptable for the inmates, and the staff. >> been here before? >> no. >> all right come over here and stand on the fence right there. >> the incoming population at san quentin was relentless. with staff releasing 150 inmates each week. but welcoming in 350 new ones. >> let's go, gentlemen, let's go, let's go, let's go. clear the door. >> many of them wound up in the gym. which had been converted into a huge, overflow housing unit. >> when i first walked in to the dorm at san quentin, i was taken aback by how many people were packed into this small area. it was very loud. ♪ >> james, report to the office upstairs. >> there's always people talking, people yelling. some people in there were trying to read and some people in there were trying to sleep. so you'll have a big group of people having a conversation over here while a guy's trying to sleep over here. most people would tie towels around their head to try to block out some of this noise. >> officers strive

>> no. >> come over here on stand on the fence right there. >> the incoming population at san quentin relentless with staff re leaguing 150 inmating each week but welcoming 350 new ones. >> let's go, let's go, let's go. clear the door. >> many of them wound up in the gym which had been converted into a huge overflow housing unit. >> when i first walked into the dorm in san quintin i was taken aback by how many people were packed into this small area. it was very loud. >> attention. james, report to the lieutenant's office upstairs. >> there is always people talking, people yelling, and some people were trying to read and some people were trying to sleep, and so you have a big group of people having a conversation over here and a guy is trying to sleep over here. most people would tie towels around their head to block out some of this noise. >> officers strive to maintain order in this potentially dangerous housing area through regular inspections for weapons and other contraband. >> unlock your locker, man. >> can i move something? >> come on, man. >> come on, come on. >> luckily i do

i had a little visit from the warden of san quentin. and he told me a story about, they killed the last grizzly bear in 1948 up in the kern river county. "if you don't behave yourself, they're going to do that to you." >> in today's therapy session, robb is hoping to understand the anger that fueled his youth. >> for a lot of the guys that are in there, it's not just one crime. you know, they've been in trouble since they were 5, you know, and done numerous things that weren't okay. and it's important, i think, that when you start really acknowledging the pain of what you've caused that you acknowledge all of the pain that you have caused. >> now robb has to go back to when the violence began and talk about the father who guided the way. >> um, okay. family history. my dad was a gangster. gambling, extortion, loan shark, murder. i remember my dad beating into me to be hard, cold and tough, answer most problems with violence. when i was 12 years old, i was six foot and i was 190 pounds. i looked like a grown man. i did everything that my

you were a former warden of san quentin. i wonder if you could share with us your experience at having actually conducted executions? you saw the word from mississippi said that this had a personal effect on him and i wonder if you can address the issue that comes up with the victim's family often get satisfaction of some kind -- some relief because of the person that they understand has committed the crime and they are finally put to death. can you remark on this? >> let me say, i agree with everything that they have talked about. i cannot really speak for the families of the victims, only what i have observed to the execution process. this has an impact on everyone who is involved, including the staff. and of course the inmates' families. and the people who show up to watch this. and the whole show of people who are there for this. you cannot walk away from this without having been impacted. i want to talk about the war and has said, that these executions have been 7-10 years after the crime and we're not executing the sam

quentin sommerville it, a reminder of how dangerous this area can be. >> that's right. over the past year the british forces have had a far fewer number of attacks. what happened was 40 kilometers from where i am in lost a, lashka e kyber. it must've been a huge explosion, because it killed everyone inside. the vehicle has not yet been recovered. we saw flags flying at half mast. there is recognition that there will always be fatalities. but losing six british soldiers in one incident, we have not seen something like that in at least six years in afghanistan. >> put this in context, but there has not been one single loss of life is that since the summer of 2009? >> i believe it was 2006 towards the end of begin in canada are province -- kandahar province where 14 soldiers were killed in that incident. the number 400, over 400 british deadnow 404 british service members killed in this war in afghanistan. there's a level of frustration among some of the officers i have been speaking to. they point to the progress, more commerce on the street, people moving far more freely

. >> if i could add on to what you just stated, i worked at san quentin for 27 years, and i feel like i grew up with a lot of the inmates that were there, just coming out of college, so i saw a lot of them change, including inmates who had been on death row prior to the supreme court overturning capital punishment. many of them were off of death row and sentenced to seven to life, and some of those individuals were paroled and have done very well out in society. i remember one who worked with the catholic church and worked through the restorative justice program to meet with surviving family members. it was actually televised. that is how much that individual changed. then he went on to have a very successful career and retired on a golf course in florida, as a matter of fact. they were debating the death penalty at the country club one day, and he said in two weeks, he would bring its former death row inmate. two weeks later, he walked in the room. he said that he immediately changed the minds of those arguing for the death penalty. that is just one powerful case, but there are many

this is happening this monday at san quentin. they're busing in a number of people from ash the state to san quentin. and you can find information about this action online. so what i try to do on the show is really talk about solutions, because i mean, the fact is, we know what we need to do, right? we know the solutions. it's just there's no political will. and what i hope to accomplish tonight is to really get past the sort of call your congress person. that's not allowed in tonight's discussion. i want to try to bring in something new, and something exciting. because i find a lot of these talks tend to sound very similar. and that's one of the complaints i have when i leave these talks, people say, okay, we need something new. and that's what's so exciting about occupy. the answer that tends to come out of that question is it always goes back to money and politics. that's the problem here. and we're going to spend a significant amount of time really talking about that. and is speaking of money and politics, president obama wil

tonight at san quentin. >> i got rid of everything, i cleaned the cell, i'm getting ready of everything. the weapon is already gone, we knew at that time there was no fingerprints and the time they came in, all of the inmates from the fifth tier to first tier start throwing everything out of their cell. that's what happened, they would fine 20, 30 weapons and never know which one was actual murder weapon. the squad came through, security quad, or goon squad, they came through and cordoned off everything and they took the pictures and collected evidence and things like that. so they collected the evidence and find all these weapons. now, that night i'm up and i'm worried. about what's happening. but they don't know what happened. >> but a break in the case came from the confession of an inmate involved in the murder. >> saw an opportunity for himself, serving a life sentence. turned everybody in. because of my lack of knowledge and planning of the crime, and my age, the judge overturned my death penalty and sentenced me to life in prison without the chance of parole, i don't go to board,

something that is so grotesque that you can't mention it. >> during his 14 years on the job, san quentin officer jones has never had a worse experience than being gassed. >> i would rather be punched, rather be kicked, rather be stabbed than to be gassed like i was back in '92. >> we have never heard a more extreme account of gassing as the one described by kentucky state penitentiary inmate, fleece johnson. >> i asked everybody on the wall to [ bleep ] in a bucket. send it down to me. and i would take, two, three, light bulbs, put it in some toilet paper, step on it, break it in some little fragments, so when i throw it on them, they wipe it, it will cut into them and get in their blood. and i was standing there with a big old bucket of it and throw it in their face. they would just go nuts. and so the corrections finally made a law that made it a felony. and then that's when i stopped. >>> coming up on "lockup: raw." the most violent confrontations behind bars. >> they tell you to back up to the door. if you back up you're a bitch. >>> some of the most dangerous confrontations in priso

if successful it would end the death sentences for 700 prisoners on death row in san quentin. >> so the 720, their sentences will be changed to life without the possibility of parole. and thereafter, there will be no judge or jury that will be imposing a death sentence. >> initiative backers say that aside from the moral issue the death penalty is too expensive. taxpayers spend $180 million a year for death row prisoners including lawyers and security. >>> according to our exclusive eyewitness news poll, 61% of california voters say they would vote to keep the death penalty. 29 eliminate, 9% wouldn't vote. >>> a bomb scare for a well- known radio host. the suspicious package mailed to rush limbaugh. >> the rescued hostage in the middle of a bank standoff. coming up. >> my gas bill is half of everybody else's. >> breezing across bay area bridges. the new system that could still get you a discount on bridge tolls. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> the mornings commute is heating up at westbound 580 out of the altamont pass. a full check of mass transit and your bay area bridges coming up. >>> a hostag

. >> eventually transferred to san quentin state prison, the man who is arguably california's most violent inmate completed his sentence and was released in 2007. >> you have people locked up in this, this type of environment and then you release them to the street. what do you expect? >> back up -- ha-ha. >>> next on "lockup: raw." >> they'll come across their enemy, slice them across the neck. >> the ingenious weapons inmates use to attack. and the lengths officers will go to in combating them. stroke. stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase y

successful it would end the death sentences of more than 700 prisoners currently on death row in san quentinkers say that aside from a moral issue, the death penalty is too expensive costing $180 million a year. >>> but according to our exclusive eyewitness news poll, 61% of california voters say they would vote to keep the death penalty. 29% say they would vote to eliminate it. 9% say they would not vote. >>> coming up, a security scare that halts flights in philadelphia. the bizarre chase that ended on the runway. >> rethinking their divorce? the new signs schwarzenegger and maria shriver may be ready to reconcile. >>> this is looking like the best weekend in quite some time to enjoy the snow. here's your snow report: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, says ross mirkarimi abused her when they dated will be in court in san franc >>> 6:15. in the headlines, a woman who says ross mirkarimi abused her when they dated will be in court in san francisco today. the judge will decide whether she will testify in the sheriff's domestic abuse trial. anne makovec will have a live report at 6:30. >>> a busy few days

two other inmates were later executed in san quentin's gas chamber for their part in the riot. the battle of alcatraz was over. >>> the lingering mystery of the three men who escaped from alcatraz 50 years ago and were never heard from again. how the 1962 escape of frank morris and the anglin brothers helped seal the faith of the prison on alcatraz. >>> the anglin's sister tells rita williams what she thinks happened to her brothers. if you want less, you can always have less, but i like having a lot more a lot more than having a lot less. and the more more i have, the more i like having more. and that's exactly what i get at embassy suites. more post-meeting celebrations, more complimentary drinks, more for my money... mmm, more bar snacks... ♪ more olives. definitely. i want so much more it's more more than a mortal man can handle. now that's more like it. [ female announcer ] complimentary drinks. free breakfast. more room. embassy suites. get more. i've seen your stunts online. i can explain... jumping a ramp in a shopping cart. so 2005. wait, what? and only 3 likes? honey,

have had the opportunity to view this issue from every point of view, having been the warden at san quentin state prison. i am absolutely impassioned about the fact that it is time to end the death penalty in this state. life without possibility of parole is the real sentence. hold people accountable and gives them the opportunity to change within the prison system, and they can give back by working within the prison system, giving restitution to family members and working on behalf of the state of california on a variety of projects that go on inside prisons. i also want to echo what the process said -- please join, please help -- i also want to echo what natasha said. talk to 10 of your friends, send e-mails, send letters. thank you. [applause] >> 1985, when i was sentenced to death for a crime i did not commit, i thought right away that this would be rectified. i was convicted of two different crimes. it took 18 years. it took me seven execution dates. i watched 12 then be executed while i was there -- i watched 12 and then be executed while i was there. i'm not in a position to say whet

we also have a former warden at san quentin who surprised the last three executions, and she is now the head of death penalty focus which is an anti-death penalty group. we have somebody, though, who really symbolizes everything that's wrong with the death penalty. in 1983 he was arrested and within 120 days was convicted in two trials which resulted in the death penalty. he was sentenced to angola in louisiana, death row, where they were executing people left and right. he spent 14 years. he had nearly half a dozen execution dates. and yet he survived and he's here today. and actually -- i know you are on the third panel. come on up. come on up. this is james "j.t." thompson. he came all the way from louisiana to be here today. [applause] one question, how did you survive? >> god. god. god. death row is a place that brings out the truest human being in you. it makes you realize you can't take nothing for granted. you need to love every moment of each day and praise and thank god for each moment you have out here. for the system to do what it did to me -- i was the only child from my mo

convicted in 1998 armed robbery of a chinese restaurant in san jose after serving eight years in san quentin prison from 1998 to 2006 and immigration judge ordered him deported back to vietnam but was released in the bay area. in 2001 u.s. supreme court ruled the u.s. cannot hold lawful immigrants indefinitely after serving a sentence the candor of the sector six months but their home country will not take them back and federal immigration officers determined that they pose no danger usf law professor building. >>> presumably the gentleman that was arrested and there was a review and he showed signs he was rehabilitated in brawley had a job and family and to the left mouse he says it is not unusual for vietnam to delay or not sent travel documents to take back its native citizens. >>> vietnamese man entered a long time ago as refugees and they fled the country. >>> so the and now may not be sure. prof. hang says the u.s. and the temples, new crimes midtown other murder suspects is here in jail and a house under observation apart from the general population because of the high-profile nature

convicted in 1998 armed robbery of a chinese restaurant in san as a after serving eight years in san quentin prison from 1998 to 2006 an immigration judge ordered him deported back to vietnam buddy was released in the bay area. >>> in 2001 the u.s. supreme court ruled the u.s. cannot hold lawful immigrants indefinitely after serving their sentences they can be released after six months if their home country will take them back and federal immigration officers determines they pose no danger usf law professor building. presumably the gentleman was arrested there was a review and he probably showed signs that he was rehabilitated and brawley had job and family. ends that amount. >>> the professor says it is not unusual for vietnam to delay or not sent to travel documents to take back its native citizens. peonies may have entered the and long time ago as refugees as they fled the country sell the nomination or that their vietnamese. >>> the professor says the u.s. releases about fourth thousand immigrants like this every year but only a small number of them commit new crimes in the meantime the

i think sometimes, it's harder for lawyers to get into san quentin than it is for clients to get out. it took hours to pass the two metal detectors before i was stuck in a six-by-six-foot wall covered with plexiglas. the death row visitor's area is a stone's throw from a little green chamber which the state of california has its execution. they pass the time going about the monday and the business about incarcerated while their lawyers try to prolong their lives. ok. we're going to recall her. let's start off with talking about "to kill a mockingbird." and what that book meant. you wrote an article about it, john. as a law professor it was something you focused on as part of legal education. how did you choose that and why? wow. i just want to say, it was wonderful seeing the actor portraying atticus finch. as i watched that i thought to myself, and i want to know what tony thinks about this, i thought there is no chance that tom robinson is going to get off. you know, that was such an ineffective appeal. now, is it a wonderful speech? it's a wonderful speech. is it beautiful? it's be

they are in rikers island, san quentin, some of the greatest minds which had not found a space to tap into their genius. that is a big part of what has happened. not talking about the prison industrial complex as well as the military industrial complex. rikers island has 1400 people -- 14,000 people. i worked at a high-school that had a mural on the wall. there was a figure, a man dressed in green, split in two. the front have has a gun, a rifle in his hand, military fatigues. the back half has the prison inmate uniform. on top it says choose your dream. so those are your options. we have seen it hurts our families apart. women are the fastest growing population to be incarcerated. we see women's prisons, men's prisons, teenagers -- they have a baby prison for the babies. they build a prison every year based on third and fourth great test scores in black and latino communities around the country. that is a fact. i can give me the documentation on that. so when the police are grabbing us up, it is a function of capitalism. white supremacy and capitalism, they have had a very long dance

. >> in my mind that is one of the worst things that could happen we were shooting in san quentin inng hit me on the top of my head and i had the worst thought oh my god i have been gassed luckily it turned out to be a banana peel. >> whethern we advice theed stateville in illinois, we encountered another practice involving human waste. >> it's feces spreads it on everything. clean it off every day every day he puts it back on. >> feces unit i segregation unit in stateville correctional center basically this is where the bad people for being extra bad in the facility come to be locked up. they urinate and bowel movement every where. i think they kind of are crazy. the prison life is probably getting to them. >> but we never have seen a more bizarre display of this gut-churning activity than at california state prison corcoran. happened during a routine shoot at the prison hospital. >> we were there for ten minutes, and did a couple interviews with a couple doctors and initially it seemed like it would be kind of mundane and going through the process and so we decided to leave. we wer

in those days, when they left everybody out of san quentin, they would bring a bus ride to 16th and mission. i do not know if that practice is still going on. i would not be surprised. >> sometimes i think so. [laughter] >> they have no place to go. if it would bring it right down to 16th and mission and cut them loose. it generated the prominent -- problems in the neighborhood. how does the venue compared to the other places in the neighborhood in terms of management? >> we have some similar challenges with some of the other local places. we have the valencia corridor right now and that is a hotbed of activity. mostly positive stuff. we see a lot of the bars in the area having the same problems with fights and that sort of thing. skylark is a little bit different. they tend to draw more of a crowd. maybe because the occupancy is set at 49. it tends to get a crowd in the front. i am not sure if that is what it is. i am not sure if it is the dj that is drawing a certain type of crowd. ultimately, whatever it is, it is a component of having better security to solve the problem. i believe stev