i worked at san quentin at a period in my early years, and san quentin was a source of pride. people loved working here. they were proud to work here. but over a period of the last few years, san quentin had developed a very unsavory reputation in the department. we need to focus on behavior. quit wasting your time trying to validate somebody as a this or a that and focus on what they're doing. if there's something that i can do that can help the people regain the sense of self-esteem that i had in my younger days, i would really want to do that. we all know what gang behavior is. they don't have a right to do that. and you have every -- you have a responsibility, not a right, a responsibility to challenge him and say you're not doing that. not here. not on my watch. not in my unit. not on my yard. okay. thank you. we have to keep in mind, this is a small city. the inmates are the population of the small city, and correctional officers are the police force for that small city. >> a specialized group of officers is responsible for monitoring gang activity. this is the investiga

. >>> san quentin prisoners acting out. why convicted murders are taking to the stage. >>> east palo alto unveiling it's latest tools to keep young people out of trouble. >>> back here in 10 minute, we have the weekend forecast to look at. there's going to be a lot of this but there's also going to be sunshine. >>> san quentin inmates acted out today but not in the way you might think. rob roth tells us how shakespeare is allowing inmates to connect with themselves and each other. >> reporter: behind these gates of san quentin prison today convicted felons took the stage and performed shakespeare. here in this auditorium inside san quentin, convicted murders, armed robbers, three strikers and other offenders were actors performing shakespeare 12 nights. this man is serving time for killing a woman. >> we can use things in our life, sad things, things that made us angry and transform that into something positive. >> reporter: 13 convicts have been rehearsing 30 weeks for this performance. this man says he killed someone when

interstate 580 near san quentin is open again.had a stretch of the freeway closed almost all day yesterday for police activity. the activity goes on, we have a reporter on the scene, but the freeway has been reopened. let's go to mark. >> hi, sal. once again we're tracking some fog out there, coastside right around the bae, santa rosa some reports of dense visibilities here. 52 degrees, san jose at last check reporting 61. so here's a look at our thursday, clearing skies near the coast, tomorrow is the fog, we'll cool things off a bit and the weekend definitely temperatures cooling off as we head into saturday with a little bit of a bump in the numbers as we do head into sunday. for today high pressure is trying to rebuild and as a result warmest locations will be flirting with the 90-degree mark and then we'll take this into your friday and saturday. this will be the source of the cooling trend, this area of low pressure moves in from the north and with that more fog and temperatures this weekend, the warmest locations only appro

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

. >> reporter: here in this auditorium inside of san quentin. convicted murderers, armed robbers, three strikers and other offenders were actors performing in an updated version of "the 12th night" this man is serving 30 years to life for murdering a woman in san diego. >> we can use things from our own lives, perhaps, sad things or things that made us angry and transform that energy into something positive. >> reporter: for the past 10 months they have been rehearsing every week for this performance. this man said he killed someone when he was 16 years old. >> when i was 16 i built a lot of walls to be tough, to be the guy -- and i like the way that child was. after participating in the play i really allowed that boy to come out. >> reporter: the play was adapted to include 1960s music with the dialogue was there for the inmate actors to memorize and recite. >> reporter: the inmates performing under the guidance of the shakespear company. >> we are asking them to do exercising and communicating with people, looking into each other's eyes, not us

shakespeare comes to san quentin prison. >>> and we'll show you a pricey buy that police hope to keep them from gangs. >>> tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00. p.pñççe". >>> u.s. soldiers will soon get a break from those long deployments. soldiers have been on a constant cycle of deployment with short stints at home. during that time the rates of divorce, suicide and drug use soared. >>> president obama says he's welcoming returning heros and helping hundreds of veterans find work. >> right now we spend a long time preparing them for service, but we spend less time returning them to work. >> president obama is helping returns veterans. the president said u.s. companies need to value the experience of veterans. mr. o obama also said he wants to give private-sector incentives. companies that hire unemployed veterans will receive a $2,400 break on their taxes. that would jump to $4,800 for hiring veterans who have been out of work six months or longer. and $9,600 for a wounded warrior. a disabled vet. finally the president threw down the gauntlet to firms, he hired them to hire or tra

. >> kristy, san quentin prison is very close to that area. is there any connection? >> reporter: we haven't remembered any reports of a connection but you're right, san quentin is just a short stretch between the junction of 101 and 580 there. so, you know, it remains to be seen if they are connected. >> i would imagine motorists in the area, drivers, probably curious about why there is a backup in the middle of the day r they stopping to ask? >> this stretch on cutting boulevard doesn't have a lot of residents around it. >>> thank you. >>> in other news two oakland councilmembers say enough is enough after a 3-year-old was killed in the middle of gunfire. today a citywide curfew and teenagers and more gang injunctions are proposed. but anne makovec says it's dividing the city. >> reporter: the plan is in the preliminary stages. it hasn't been officially presented to the council. there's already a lot of criticism and that was spoken about today here at the memorial for that 3-year-old boy who was shot august 8 caught in the middle of a gang fight. his cousin came he

we met christopher carrillo inside a heavily graded cell at san quentin. >> you give respect, you get respect. a lot of people say these guys don't treat us right. at times they don't, but it's hard when you've got a lot of people in here. can't be happy too much in prison. it's not disneyland. >> but another inmate at another california prison had a harsher view the cos. >> i hate cops. they're diabolical. they're petty. they present to the public that they're law and order, this and that but in here they'll stab you in the back. they write false write-ups. they got a hidden agenda. they want to keep us locked up in here so they make money. you know, this is a prison industrial complex. it's all about money. >> there is one place, however, where trust is put to the ultimate test. it's the prison kitchen. >> everything back here could be made into a potential weapon. those sheet pans are very thin and they're sharp on the edges. it only takes one of these guys to pick one of those up and they could almost cut my head off. >> we met officer epperson at the kern valley state prison in c

i started at san quentin in 1978, after graduating. i went there, a small number of us had college degrees. the old guard would say, everyone will tell you that they're innocent. and in my 26 years, i never had anyone say that they were innocent. including the jewish chaplains clerk. i think 17 or 18 years -- he wasn't tolerated. santa then you learn that many more innocent people have been found around the country, and this really should cause all of us to rethink in criminal justice what we think that we know. there is science out there that is not known to us that will prove that we have been wrong about many things. the death penalty is still final. this man is trying to struggle with the fact that he probably executed an innocent person. we should not ask this of anyone in our society. [applause] >> i want to say one other thing. how have your former colleagues handled your conversion on this issue? has this been greeted with support? >> i have received much support, and nothing that has been negative. having spent 30 years in cri

. >> this is california's san quentin state prison, one of the first prisons ever profiled on "lockup." >> for a photographer, san quentin was a really interesting place to shoot because it's the old-style tiers and the big exercise yard and there's a lot of corners and shadows and things to attract your lens. so it was just as a photographer, it was really an interesting place to shoot. it can be a very dangerous place because it's got incredibly dangerous or infamous history as a dangerous place. >> on our first day of shooting here, we got a stark introduction to the constant security threats posed by gang order. >> we're basically getting ready to feed the level four, which are the maximum security inmates. tonight we're expecting some type of problems possibly. so we have extra coverage tonight to provide security. >> let's go. >> the correctional staff received a tip that a gang-related attack might occur at dinner. >> hispanic inmates, the gang members specifically, are doing what is called cleaning house. anyone that does not want to participate in their gang activity, if they

. >> 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

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

. >>> some inmates of san quentin state prison traded their jump suits for costumes today all in theame of theater. 13 inmates turned actors performed shakespeare third night. the inmates spent 10 months practicing for the performance set in the 1960s with music from the beatles. the cast includes convicted murders and some of them told ktvu the play enables them to express themselves. >> we can use things from our own lives perhaps sad things or things that made us angry and transform those things for a moment. >> for a short time you're not in prison. you are physically but not mentally. >> reporter: the shakespeare company began the shakespeare program in san quentin eight years ago. >>> some good news tonight, the same fears and sell offs are making gasoline cheaper. the national average which is $3.75 a gallon could fall up to 30-cents a gallon over the next month. here in the bay area drivers are already seeing a difference. the average price for a gallon of regular in san francisco is $3.89. that's down a cent from last week. in oakland prices also dropped a penny to $3.81 a g

. >>> some inmates of san quentin state prison traded their jump suits for costumes today all in thename of theater. 13 inmates turned actors performed shakespeare third night. the inmates spent 10 months practicing for the performance set in the 1960s with music from the beatles. the cast includes convicted murders and some of them told ktvu the play enables them to express themselves. >> we can use things from our own lives perhaps sad things or things that made us angry and transform those things for a moment. >> for a short time you're not in prison. you are physically but not mentally. >> reporter: the shakespeare company began the shakespeare program in san quentin eight years ago. >>> some good news tonight, the same fears and sell offs are making gasoline cheaper. the national average which is $3.75 a gallon could fall up to 30-cents a gallon over the next month. here in the bay area drivers are already seeing a difference. the average price for a gallon of regular in san francisco is $3.89. that's down a cent from last week. in oakland prices also dropped a penny to $3.81 a

we do know it's not related to anything at san quentin prison which is not far there the scene. wave more information as soon as it's available. >>> meantime, take a look at this picture. my goodness. sanitation truck in queens, new york, crashed through the second story wall of an industrial building and was left dangling from that building. the driver hung on for dear life as the rescue workers tried to stabilize the vehicle. they used a cherry picker to rescue the driver who is said in serious but stable condition. four cars parked below were damaged by falling bricks and debris. officials don't know how they lost control of the vehicle. >> a teenager is in custody after what police call catastrophic attack at the high school. they say 17-year-old threatened to plant explosive devices and discharge them on the first day of school next tuesday. police arrested him last night after getting a tip. >> there were two individual faculty members that were specific tar get. he mentioned his desire to cause more casualties than were suffered at columbine. >> police believe revenge was

now a marin county prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for a san quentin inmate for a killing. frank souza is accused of fatally stabbing another inmate seven times in the prison yard last july. the prisoner that he stabbed, edward schafer, crashed into a novato family during a drunk enmotorcycle ride in 2009. 9-year-old melody died in that crash. when asked about the prison yard killing, frank souza said "all i've got to say is 9-year-old girl." marin county prosecutors are wasting taxpayer money seeking the death penalty. >>> diplomas versus deportation. this will allow children of illegal immigrants a chance to stay in the u.s. those that are in deportation proceedings will be reviewed and possibly be given permits. >>> u.c. berkeley tested its first online class this summer, a chemistry class. this included lab demonstrations, discussion boards and online office hours. it's worth the same amount of credits as a traditional class. it offers an opportunity to get tuition without taking up actual classroom space. the classes will dilute the quality of education, critics say, o

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 --