shores of beautiful san francisco bay. >> customers. >> this is receiving and release area of san quentin state prison. every inmate that enters or exits will come through this area right here. >> step up. >> you cannot get into the san quentin nor can you leave without coming through this area. >> take everything off. >> when inmates first arrive, they are strip searched. >> spread your cheeks. move on. they get their haircut. then they're photographed and fingerprinted. >> okay, starting with your right thumb, roll your fingers across the scanner. >> eaten. >> in an effort to avoid violent confrontations later, every inmate is evaluated and classified according to his history of violence outside and inside the penal system. >> enemies? >> none. >> gang banger? share a cell with another man, no problem? >> that's all right with me. >> okay, thank you. >> as long as we're compatible. i don't want youngsters. >> i wish we could make that call for you. you'll find out when you get to the house. once evaluated the newcomers are placed in one of san quentin's four cell blocks. each cell block holds up to

i work at san quentin prison. they segregate inmates based on color and gangs. why do prisons not work on educating inmates on social relations, racial tolerance, and why don't they find a way so the different races can get to know each other? >> i would like to enter that. segregation has -- i would like to answer that. segregation has always been a problem in this country. i grew up in new orleans. we believe that education is the key. we all need to sit at the table. i do not believe in segregation for inmates. they need to tear that barrier down and put people together, no matter what. when we go inside the walls of san quentin, it is not just black inmates. it is hispanic, pacific islanders, white, native americans, it is everybody. when they leave that room, they go back to their communities that are segregated. they, too, do not like it. it is a barrier that has to be torn down. i know it works. being in there for the last four years, we make it a point that everybody mixes up, even the seating. you do not just sit with a black person or a white person. it

i work at san quentin prison. they segregate inmates based on color and gangs. why do prisons not work on educating inmates on social relations, racial tolerance, and why don't they find a way so the different races can get to know eacher

i work at san quentin prison. they segregate inmates based on color and gangs. why do prisons not work on educating inmates on social relations, racial tolerance, and why don't they find a way so the different races can get to know each other? >> i would like to enter that. segregation has -- i would like to answer that. segregation has always been a problem in this country. i grew up in new orleans. we believe that education is the key. we all need to sit at the table. i do not believe in segregation for inmates. they need to tear that barrier down and put pe

prison. our cameras spent months documenting life on the inside where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup: san quentin -- extended stay." as the oldest prison in california, san quentin is steeped in a violent history. >> out in the yard. take a hole. >> taking in and distributing inmates from 17 counties, its criminal population changes almost every day. >> just keeping this place functional is an enormous effort. >> the prison uses a set of regulations and procedures to maintain order. but inmates often operate under a different code of conduct. >> the inmates have what they call prison politics here and the gangs control all of that. they have literally written rules and regulations and the repercussions for not following those rules are serious. >> anyone that's active, they are beginning to hit me if they see me. they will try to kill me, try to slice me. >> on your stomach. on your stomach. >> sir, sir, sir, back up, back up, back up. watch where you're walking. >> the inmate had a serious cut. almost all the way around the side of his head. and a serious cut across his neck. it looks like at le

you can only kill me once. >> san quentin prison in california is home to some notorious killers.for murdering his pregnant wife lacy is perhaps the best known, but the facility also houses richard ramirez, better known as the night stalker and richard alan davis, polly klaas's killer. the prison is more than 150 years old. its walls are crumbling and the institution has become 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.

the wedding took place in san quentin prison where ramirez is awaiting execution. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. >>> daring rescues in frigid waters. >> i can't see anything! i need help! >> massive floods. >> oh, my god. >> it was unbelievable just how quickly that the water was moving. >> and danger at sea. >> absolutely life threatening situation. >> get ready to get wet. catching air and crashing cars. falling in. >> it was a real quick, violent crash. >> and flying out. >> my gosh! >> when it comes to the power of water, expect the unexpected. >>> "caught on camera: wet and wild." hello. i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." water is a force to be reckoned with. we learned as children never to turn our backs on a wave. but there are countless other ways to be caught unprepared. in our first story, a burst water main wreaks havoc on a cold winter morning. motorists trapped in their vehicles when a flood turns roadways into rivers. >> could have killed many people. >> the waters rise so quickly that drivers are unabl

. >> but we found a very different case of inmate creature bonding inside california's san quentin prisonike miller my real name. and the staff here call me birdman of san quentin. >> the first day i got here at san quentin. the birds seemed to have flocked to me for some reason. and i don't know they probably think i am the bird man of alcatraz. maybe i'm mistaken because he had a shaved head too. >> miller was serving an eight year sentence for burglary when he proudly showed us his cell. a virtual shrine to his winged friends. >> ever since i have been here the birds come up to me like they know me. you know i got them landing on my shoulders and my hands. and you know different kinds of birds. not just pigeons. but i got, you know different kind of black birds. finch and the red wing landing on me. i think -- the birds is a good way of -- of releasing a lot of tension and anger. before i got arrested my girlfriend used to chase the birds away. she didn't want me around them. and so -- now i'm in here. i have a chance to mingle with the birds. and basically that's about the only friend

prison. our cameras spent months documenting life on the inside where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup: san quentin oldest prison in california, san quentin is steeped in a violent history. >> out in the yard. take a hole. >> taking in and distributing inmates from 17 counties, its criminal population changes almost every day. >> just keeping this place functional is an enormous effort. >> the prison uses a set of regulations and procedures to maintain order. but inmates often operate under a different code of conduct. >> the inmates have what they call prison politics here and the gangs control all of that. they have literally written rules and regulations and the repercussions for not following those rules are serious. >> anyone that's active, they are beginning to hit me if they see me. they will try to kill me, try to slice me. >> on your stomach. on your stomach. >> sir, sir, sir, back up, back up, back up. watch where you're walking. >> the inmate had a serious cut. almost all the way around the side of his head. and a serious cut across his neck. it

prisons. dangerous, often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. >> down on your feet, down! >> among the nation's most notorious institutions, san quentin state prison. our cameras spent months documenting life on the inside where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup san quentin: extended stay." >> san quentin is home to more than 5,000 inmates, ranging from the most violent offenders in california -- >> i tell you, i'll rob you in a minute. don't get me wrong. >> i pulled a gun on this man and shot him six times in his chest. >> -- to the all-too-common parole violators flooding the system. >> i do drugs. that's my violation. >> the overpopulated san quentin serves as the reception center for 17 counties in california. >> there's 384 inmates in this gym. right now i have six staff members. >> it's forced to house a dangerous mix of high- and low-risk inmates. >> you got the drugs, you got the inmates to manufacture alcohol, you got the gangs, the weapons. so it can be real dangerous at times. >> i've been a pretty successful robber. >> level 4 inmates, the worst in california are housed at san quentin

more than 600 condemned men await their execution dates here on death row at california's san quentin state prison row is a quiet place where inmates are much more concerned with filing appeals than causing trouble. that's not the case here. >> i feel like i consider everybody in here, every inmate in here a potential threat. >> our producer met two officers assigned to keep watch in the adjustment center where san quentin's most violent death row inmates are housed. the daily grind here is bleak for both inmates and staff. >> the mentality is i'm on death row and there's nothing you can do to me. if i assault you today there is nothing they will do to me tomorrow. you can only kill me once. >> assaults are so common here that any contact with inmates, even serving meals, requires officers to suit up in full riot gear. >> but that doesn't stop them from gassing, which is where they throw a variety of substances, can be anything, urine, feces. >> from the time you open the food port, there's an opening for the inmate to assault you. >> death row at san quentin is a really very scary place. the adju

prisons, dangerous, often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. >> down on your feet. down. >> among the nation's most notorious institutions, san quentin state prison. our cameras spent months nothing happens so like one day goes into the other and the next thing, months go by, years go by. a new day goes by in san quentin. a typical day at san quentin is more often than not just like hundreds, even thousands, of other days. for 19-year-old troy ka missski the best part of his morning is a cell mate cup of joe. >> i read coffee, drink a book. this is your good class-a folgers. if it ain't folgers, it ain't nothing, you know what i'm saying? >> my hot water is broken thanks to this wonderful place, but i get it from my next-door neighbor nick. you probably don't want to talk to him. he's probably talking to his demons right now. hey, nick. >> hey. >> i need some hot water from you, homey. thank you! thank god he's got long arms, huh? we've got some hot water. we make do, you know. we do what we've got to do to live and survive in this nice little space of ours. i smoke cigarettes, but i can't get a cigarette here anymore so i cut myself

continuing coverage on the speed freak killer case, wesley shermantine is on death row at san quentin state prisonually taken out of prison on sunday and taken to linden, california which is 95 mi. east of san francisco. human remains have already been found in that area and basically shermantine was there to point out new locations where there could be more human remains. right now, he is back behind bars. >> in san francisco, there have been too violent attacks on women walking at night in the russian hill neighborhood. both cases if both women were pepper spray, beaten and robbed the first incident happened here at the corner of malarkey and greenwich. if the second incident happened at the corner of the civic and a lot of work. in both cases the suspects got away in cars if the because the vehicle descriptions are different in each incident, police say there is nothing definitive lead linking these two cases. >>haaziq: the oakland police department and are warning people in the area about the rise of electronic theft, laptops and cell phones. >> to agree what we are seeing is an individual had

. >> at california's san quentin state prison, we saw how sophisticated some inmate weaponry can be. this homemade pistol is known as a zip gun. >> this portion is filled with groundup matchups. >> the two holes here, the inmate inserts a wick, inmate takeses a plunger, pokes shrapnel in the open end. pieces of metal, groundup zippers. when the target walks by the cell, may it be an officer, inmate, the inmate lights this. when it goes down, strikes the match heads, basically acts like a firecracker and shoots the shrapnel out. >> the majority of inmate-manufactured weapons or shanks, designed for slashing and stabbing. the ease and with lethal weapons are made is shocking. this san quentin inmate who goes by the name speedy, agreed to show correctional staff and "lockup" cameras just how simple it can be. he starts by using a roll of toilet paper as a crude forge to melt plastic coffee cup lids. >> i'm making a weapon right now. melting this plastic down into a shape. what i'm dying i'm trying to get a little wad of it to where i have something to work with, you know what i mean? ri

. >> at san quentin state prison, we learned that not only do gangs force most of the prison population into racial segregation, they even draw boundaries on the rec yard. >> this is the lower yard. and the inmates segregate themselves out here, the reason being that the gangs want it that way. the blacks are over here. the northern hispanics is our main gang here at san quentin. and it's because they're better organized. the white guys are over here on the parallel bars and on the picnic table. over in the corner you see where the asians are sitting. you can't just walk and sit on a table. i had to explain that. i almost got into a confrontation with that two or three times because, you know, i saw a table and i sat down, you know, it's not like that. you got to ask for permission to sit down there. >> even such a minor misstep can be taken as a sign of disrespect, and that can lead to widespread violence. though correctional staff is constantly on the lookout for weapons, it's well known that many on this yard are armed for battle. and none more so than the northern hispanics. >> they

originally constructed to relieve overcrowding at san quentin state prison, folsom housed some of the most dangerous inmates of the time. today its history of a more violent time has not been forgotten. >> folsom, just the aura of this place hangs above us like a fog hangs over this place. >> daniel bell is a newcomer, only on the yard for four months. >> i mean you're like totally in awe of the fact that you're actually here, that so many men have died and lost their lives on this very yard right here, at the very spot we're standing. i mean, you know, men have got killed, so it's like you're terrified. >> no. this is my first time here. don't like it. i don't like it. >> a lot of people getting stabbed, you know. i've seen people's throats get sliced. my first night in this building behind me here, when i woke up in the morning to gunshots on the tier, you know. >> you always have a fear factor when you walk through those gates. anybody would be lying to you if they told you that they weren't scared when they were in here. >> there's not anyone who walks into folsom that looks at th

few, though, made as lasting an impression on us at solon league of california's san quentin state prison. >> he got 12 years. i only got 13 days now. so i'm really preparing him to what is ahead of him. we keep our house clean. >> league gave both his cellmate and our producer a lesson on the finer points of laundry behind bars. >> i get my t-shirt, grab my bar of soap, dip it in the toilet. keep my toilet fresh and clean. scrub it out. like so. and once the toilet fills up, it's fresh water now. i can just rinse it. i fold my towels. put it here. right up under here is my clothesline. >> league went on to give us a cooking demonstration, using toilet paper like a stovetop burner. >> take this, set it on the edge of the toilet. because it's got to breathe. set it here, light it at the bottom. as you see, it's like a fire. you hold your can over it, and you cook. therefore your water gets hot. flush it down. grab a damp towel because you don't want it to be on your toilet. don't want to burn your toilet up. i get my bowl, crack my soup open and do my eating. >> over the years, we've also

. >>> two san quentin corrections officers were injured today when prison officials say a death row inmatetaked them with an improvised weapon. it happened this morning when authorities say the corrections officers were escorting inmate joseph mcgee from the shower back to his cell. the two officers suffered cuts to their heads, necks and arms. they were both taken to a hospital where they are expected to recover. an investigation into the attack is now underway. >>> in martinez police are searching for a couple who are accused of beating and stabbing a 20-year-old woman in a home over the weekend. police say 42-year-old jacob herman and his 30-year-old wife jackie both have criminal histories and should be considered armed and dangerous. the victim was taken to the hospital with stab wounds and trauma to her face but has been released. police say the couple and the victim were family friends. there is no word at this point on what led to the attack. >>> a firefighter collapsed today while fighting a three- alarm fire at a san jose church. it broke out this morning at st. patrick proto-cat

this is "lockup: san quentin, extended stay." >> in america's prisons, institution, one of the toughest maximum security prisons in the state of florida. >> don't come back in these blues. >> don't come back in these blues. >> these inmates are receiving extensive programming specific for veterans that will assist them upon their release from the department of corrections into society. >> you are doing a good job. >> thank you, sir. >> the goal of santa rosa's veterans program is to return a sense of honor and responsibility to former servicemen whose lives have gotten off track. the veterans selected for the program, some of whom date back to vietnam, must have clean disciplinary records and upcoming release dates. >> color guard report! >> we represent the color guard for the annex. we are responsible for the flag. >> prepare to raise the flag. >> the flagpole that we have, it doesn't have a string on it, security reasons. the mirror that's behind us, it pretty much sums up what you would see if you actually watch us put the flag up. we take the pole down, hook the flag to it. and whe

. >>> originally designed to house just over 3,000 inmates, san quentin is now home to more than 5,000. the overcrowding has forced the prisony extra square foot into living space, creating dangerous environments for its inmates and officers. >> right now. >> down here, the dangers are pretty good. i'm left-handed. it's an open environment. >> gentlemen. >> there's right now, i have six staff members. >> [ muted ]. >> you're doing a good job. >> breaking all my rights. >> another day on the job. >> almost all the individuals down here are parole violators, been out on parole, couldn't hack it. got picked up for something, sent them back here, generally do six months, a year. they go main line to another institution to do their time or released out on parole. prison systems are overcrowded. beds are at a premium. this is the rc overflow. we house 384 individuals. it's an open dorm. we have tvs, considered pretty much the luxury suites. i have three sets of showers broke down by race in the gym. they self-segregate. we do not tell them where to go. the shower closest to the left is all white. middle shower will be only your bl

. >>> two san again -- two san quentin guards are becover -- are recovering. prisonials say a prisoner slashed the guards who were escorting him to thor part of the prison -- to another part of the prison. >>> thors have determined that 73-year-old twin sisters i dod of natural causes. their bodies were found in the home they shared back in february. investigators say it appears that patricia miller died first of coronary artery disease and then her sister, joan miller, died from hypothermia. one of their windows were open at the home and authorities say joan was heavily dependent on her sister for her care. that he had been living together for almost 40 years. >>> 8:0 4. california energy officials say they've caught another power company gaming the electricity market. officials say the company withheld electricity to drive prices higher, causing it to take in $10.5 million in excessive gains just since april. officials have not released the name of the company. the state has already accused of j.p. morgan chase in making $73 million in extra profit boy manipulating

prison. >> he is back on death row at san quentin. >> but he was taken from san quentin to a different town will help search for the remains of his murder victims. >> he marked four new locations. >> kathleen gilgani offer add bill to release him. >> they need to step in fully and bring the best resources that they have available. >> now, she is hoping this will lead to the discovery of dozens of vick tunnels. >> they were convicted in a drug fuel before and later he committed suicide in prison earlier this year. >> they called for are an end to violence. families of homicide victims scheduled a prayer vigil. san jose has had 33 homicides this year. 13 of those crimes have been ruled gang related. police are calling for a crackdown on gangs in the city. >> one man is dead after a shooting in oakland. >> he was shot in the chest about nine last night. and eighth and add line streets. >> police have not released information about the suspect. the identity has not been released. >>> the new archbishop of the catholic church is apologizing for his drunk driving over the weekend. >> salvatore wa

san quentin and 2007. i was asked to do a $10 billion industry of prisons. >> it was my first time in any present the publicugh. and into the prison where inmates were walking around with cars, guns! the first time his cell phone went off and he said i have to go take care of this. he put me in a small room and left me there. i was terrified! and i was hoping that he locked the door but about 10 minutes later four men became ind. they said that they work and for life. they came in and they sat with me. and day -- came in. and i said that is it. >> this began and there were also concerned and said you do not look very good let us go get you some water. they understood you were scared? >> and instead of hearing that anchor and aggressiveness that i was expected and the violence they were nice. they said excuse me, thank you and this began of who are these people that commit murder. when we send them away, a 20-30 years after. >> let us show a picture of these guys. >> that his downfall krum the first man that i met. he had over 20 years in san quentin of these guys are out. >> the exhibit. >> the exhibit of a