so this is what those of us who watch prison movies refer to as the yard. >> this is the yard at san quentin. we house 3,864 inmates at this prison. currently there are 731 guys on death row here at san quentin. >> is there anything i should be aware of or think about or know as i walk in here? >> i think just be yourself. >> okay. it's amazing how many times people give me that advice. >> so for a guy who's never walked inside of a prison, what does that feel like? >> it's funny. it feels like i'm walking into a neighborhood i'm unfamiliar with. >> nice comedy, brother. >> thank you, sir. now it feels great. >> now you know. >> i'm looking around, i see different groups of people in different areas. are the areas broken up in any way? >> the areas are broken up in a way. just beyond the tennis court are primarily where the white guys are. there are a couple different areas for those guys. basketball court. that's primarily where all the african-americans are. there's a little area of land just behind us near the shack where the paisis -- >> the what? >> piesis. those individuals from mexico

and i think san quentin prison is probably the best example for that. e for us to give back. and they will help you. and that's something that is unprecedented that happens at this prison that i haven't seen in any other prison. >> do have you a possible parole date? >> i go to the board this december. >> how does this feel? >> this is strange. i want to get out so i can come back. >> you don't mean it that way. >> no. i found my calling in life. and that is doing these therapy programs with veterans and other, just prisoners. >> one thing that's clear to me is that you are proud of your service and you are a veteran who still wants to serve his country. >> very much so. >> and i wish you good luck in december. >> i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> now i understand that prisoners i'm meeting have had years to change from the people they once were. and while it may be easy for me to forgive them, i also understand why those directly affected by their crimes may not ever be able to, but there is someone here hoping to change the view

this is the receiving and release area of san quentin state prison. every inmate that enters or exits san quentin will come through this area right here. >> come on, step up. >> you cannot get into san quentin nor can you leave san quentin without coming through this area. >> move on. >> when inmates first arrive, they are strip-searched. >> spread your cheeks. move on. >> they get their hair cut. then they're photographed and fingerprinted. >> starting with your right thumb, roll your fingers. >> eating. >> 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? >> it's all right with me. >> okay. thank you. >> as long as you're compatible. >> i wish we could make that call for you. you'll find out when you get to the house. thank you. >> flores. >> once evaluated the newcomers are placed in one of san quentin's four cell blocks. each cell block holds up to 800

prison. right across the bay, just 12 miles from san francisco sits san quentin prison. this place has locked up the best of the worst, from serial killers to presidential assassins. to maybe the worst husband of all time but it's also been home to people you wouldn't expect, like country singer murl hagert and even stanley tooky williams, a convicted murderer, ex-gang member turned nobel peace nominee who the state still saw fit to execute. alcatraz, also or brittany. which means, of course, johnny cash recorded an album there. now, why in the world would i be going there? well, whether we like to think about it or not, there are human beings behind these walls. yes, some very bad ones but then some i've heard have just done bad things, got caught up in the system. and i want to meet these men to find out what life is really like in prison and see if they're being rehabilitated or are they just doomed to become a statistic in the business that is prison. and more than any other prison in the state of california, san quentin is known for suviddism. almost 60% are returni

san quentin state prison served as the reception center for 17 counties in the state of california. each week, the prison releases 150 prisoners. and welcomes 350 new inmates. san quentin was built to hold about 3,000 people. it currently houses more than 5,000. >> unfortunate for some of them, they think this is a step up. in the circles they travel in, unfortunately, it is. you know, i made it. i'm in state prison now. >> with repeat offenders clogging up the works, the officers struggle to keep the inmates under control. >> control, be advised we have an alarm in south block. >> i can only speculate and the only thing i can think of is we have a missing inmate. that's probably the number one thing. >> step on the tiers and conduct a count, submit it to patrol immediately. >> 5-west-45, hernandez. i don't know where he is. >> his name is skanvinsky hymes. my prison number is e-04448. i've had this prison number since i was 18 years old. i just turned 37 on february 15th. i'll be discharged from the prison system in a matter of about four days. >> you know what, for the record, show

, extended stay." >> in america's prisons, violence is a way of life. san quentin, the oldest prison in california, has one of the longest histories of violence. >> there's fistfights going on, there's guys getting beat up pretty good. >> whether it's an inmate fresh off the street -- >> i refuse to get disrespected by anybody. >> a gang dropout in protective custody. >> it happened a couple of days ago so -- >> or an officer trying to maintain order. >> he was going for the jugular but he just missed. >> they've all fallen victim to violent attacks. in the three months we were at san quentin, we saw our fair share. ♪ for the ruler of all evil i pray to god i don't die for the wrong people ♪ >> administrative segregation, otherwise known as ad seg, is a unit mainly reserved for the worst of the worst offenders at san quentin. >> it's a place where they need to be if they need to be separated from the general population. >> step forward. >> ad seg inmates live in single man cells, are on lockdown 23 hours a day and are handcuffed and escorted by officers for all mov

prisons, into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen. "lockup: raw." >> built in 1852 and home to california's death row, san quentin state prison was bursting at the seams due to overcrowding when we shot our extended stay series there. but san quentin had one program designed to discourage troubled teens. from ever joining its ranks in the future. through the squires program, selected inmates shared their experiences with teenagers who had already had run-ins with the law. >> what we need you to understand, you are in san quentin this morning. you are in a place that no kid should ever want to be in. you should be out playing somewhere in the park. but you're here because of something you did. >> what's your first name? >> angel. >> angel? >> yeah. >> how old are you? >> 13. >> miguel, i'm 16. >> jonathan, i'm 16, too. >> what you want to know, that this is your life, man. you have an opportunity to leave out of this place and never come back. >> let me introduce myself to you guys. my name's david. i'm about to be 25 years old in a few more months, but i have been in prison since i was 15 years old for murder. >> david monroe is serving a

[mountain woman and key laughing together] >>> within the walls of san quentin prison, each inmate hasam, america's favorite pastime is his way to escape the realities of prison life. >> right now i'm going down to the baseball field to see what's going on. thanks. this year i'll be playing for the san quentin giants, and i'll be a starting left fielder. >> hey, guys. listen. breathe. make him throw strikes to you. here we go. san quentin giants baseball. come on. >> let's go, let's go. >> let's go now. >> one for a single. one for a home run. >> when i first got in in 2003, there was the giants and the pirates. so i went out there for the pirates. >> he don't even want to throw a strike, curtis. he don't even want to throw a strike. >> first day, i suit up in a pirates uniform. i felt like i was a kid again. >> let's go. stay focused. >> attack mode, baby, attack mode. >> being familiar with something i grew up with, playing baseball. and so i felt alive at that point. baseball, no matter where you are, in prison or on the street, it's baseball. >> yeah. >> go, go! get him, get him! h

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, now! >> 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." >> probably next to an inmate's release date, visits are the most important things in their lives. keeping in touch with their loved ones. >> i don't like coming here, but i have to so i can see him. >> for some, visits are rare moments of intimacy. and for others, a business transaction. >> a lot of drugs come in through the visiting room. a lot of drugs. >> you don't want to be here, man. >> and then the hustle just like the bona fide, hustler with the web and then with the two hands, like you said. >> the money. >> money in one hand, dice coming out the other. >> it's going to be hard. make sure that i do it, though, because if someone else does it, it's going to be different. >> no, i know. >> everybody hates prison. society hates prison. it's part of life. i've got to accept the things i put myself in. i ca

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. >> get 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. >> get down. >> anyone that's active, they are going to hit me if they see me. they are going 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. there's blood. there's blood on the ground. maurice, get me another box of gloves. >> the inmate had a serious cut. alm

san quentin. he seeing the rise of the black panther party from inside a prison. is paying attention to the world and reading and he's leading classes on political education. during classes on martial arts. he becomes known throughout the prison system. everyone tells people you have to meet this guy george jackson. huey newton helps george jackson get an attorney. what brings these three guys together is that a guard shot and killed three black prisoners in the yard. that, they to investigate and say was justifiable. someone beat up and killed a guard. a different guard. widely seen as retaliation. they were charged for that. what becomes interesting, what the kind lawyer sees, of force and power of his statements. there is a larger problem. of racism happening here. he is such as the skate analyst of it. he helps bring his letters together. a certain kind of patient zero for mass incarceration. we think about proms we see in the prison system as a whole, george jackson becomes one of the most sophisticated analysts of it. someone who is able to diagnose the prob

november 17, 1883, the west's most notorious stagecoach bandit is sentenced to six years in san quentin prison four years without incident, he's out on good behavior. reporters wait for his release. >> black bart, are you going back to your life of robbing stagecoaches? ♪ >> no, i've given up my life of crime. >> are you going to go back to writing poetry? >> did you hear me, son? i said i'm done committing crimes. [ laughter ] [ chuckles ] ♪ >> charles e. boles, bolton, black bart, t.z. spalding -- whatever the name, his polite nature and charismatic ways endear him to many in the west. but one man rejects the romantic notion of a gentleman bandit or highway poet. >> aside from the criminal matter of obtaining a livelihood, his career has been entirely and completely despicable. >> when boles is released, he returns to san francisco, where hume has him tailed. >> boles was a pretty smart guy. it is likely that he knew that hume was following him. hume perhaps had a hunch that maybe boles might return to his nefarious ways. >> black bart may be a notorious criminal, but far from the typical vi

prison. if they don't want me here, kick me out. >> 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, mother -- ha 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. that i'vee news for being a dad. windows 10 is great because i need to keep organized. school, grocery shopping. my face can unlock this computer. that's crazy. macbooks are not able to do that. "hey cortana, remind me we have a play date tomorrow at noon" i need that in my world. anything that makes my life easier, i'm using. and windows is doing that. put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresh

>> to making jewelry, to making soap, to a private tour of the cal decot tunnel, a tour of san quentin prisont we did a competition called chopped just like the tv show on food network where we got to go grocery shopping and we had certain items and had to make a dish out of them and there was judging for best presentation. >> i've had a lot of favorite nights out but one of the most repeat was ice skating. i haven't laughed that hard like pe my pasts kind of laughter. >> some they could do without. >> the least favorite of mine hands down was when we learned how to knit. >> my least favorite was we went to a shooting range and i did not enjoy holding a gun. >> but they do it all together. >> we do things other than just going to dinner and having cocktails even though that's great, too. if i was left to my own devices i probably wouldn't be playing basketball. >> it was a commitment that had taken them on the journey. >> i don't think anybody would imagine we'd be doing it many years later. >> life is throwing them many curve balls. >> the closest to missing was when i had my two kids. >> i

but this week on cnn, we visit california's san quentin prison to hear the story of one man behind those how did you end up here? >> i was arrest ed in 1996 for series of bank robberies. >> you don't seem like u a bank robber. >> i robbed a bank before. the lady said, are you series? >> what was your process? >> the fbi gave me the moniker the "brown bag bandit." >> i have something like this. i just write in like red marker. i have a put. put the money in the bag. she would open it up and put in the money and then i wake out of the bank. >> wow. who was the person that you were back then that decided to rob a bank? how did you get to that decision? >> it's a part of that process that i look into myself to try to figure that out. i don't see myself as a bank b robber. why was a doing that? one of the tellers that i robbed came in and testified against me and i was crying on the stand and told me that terrified her whole life. right there, i was like it kind of hit me know iing that i just want ruined this woman's life. that's because of what i did. but i couldn't process that the way i'm

at california's san quentin state prison.inmates are much more concerned with filing appeals than causing trouble. that's not the case here. [ alarm sounding ] >> me, myself, i consider 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. >> mentality of most inmates in this unit is, i'm on death row, there's nothing you can do to me. if i assault you today, there's nothing you can do to me tomorrow. you can only kill me once. >> assaults are so common here, 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. >> any time you open the food port, there's an opening for that inmate to assault you. >> death row at san quentin is a really scary place and the adjustment center is t

. >> at california's san quentin state prison, we saw how sophisticated some inmate weaponry can be.his homemade pistol is known as a zip gun. >> this portion is filled with ground up matchheads. the two holes here, inmates insert a wick. the inmate takes a plunger, pokes shrapnel in the open end, pieces of metal, ground up zippers. when the target walks by the cell, be it an officer or an inmate, the inmate lights this, 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 are designed for slashing or stabbing. the ease with which 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 doing is trying to get a wad of it to where i can -- i have something to work with. you know what i mean? what

. >> but we found a very different case of inmate creature bonding inside california's san quentin state prison>> i'm mike miller is my real name. and the staff here call me bird man 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'm the bird man of alcatraz. maybe they're 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've been here the birds just come up to me like they know me. you know, i got them landing on my shoulders and my hands. you know, different kinds of birds, not just pigeons. but i got the, you know, the different kinds of black birds like finch and the redwing. landing on me. i think the birds is a good way 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, when i'm in here i have a chance to mingle with the birds. and basically that's abo

prisons, too. built in 1852, california san quentin is one of the oldest prisons we visited. >> approximately 1985,quentin. i was working graveyard in a section called donner. >> this officer is a member of the investigative services unit, an elite team of c.o.s who track gang activity and other threats to the institution. >> one night my partner and i were working graveyard. i was sitting with my back to a file cabinet just like this. there was a row of padlocks on the top handle. my partner and i were talking, all of a sudden, the locks started rattling back and forth together, clacking. he looked at it. i looked at it. see, i'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it. we both ran out of the office. we had no explanation as to what that was. we asked some other officers and they said that, you know, the unit is probably haunted. so never can tell. there was no explanation for it. there was no earthquake. the inmates weren't complaining in the unit about the ground moving. there were no wild animals in there. i didn't bump it. he didn't bump it. so no telling. >> there's been a history of other

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 quentinur 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."

one of the country's most famous prisons located in san quentin, california. out more about the inmates and prison and the culture. i'm looking around and see different groups of people in different areas. are the areas broken up? >> they are broken up in a way. beyond the tennis court where the white guys are. there are a couple of different areas for those guys and basketball court, that's primarily where all of the african-americans are. flz an area of land behind us near the shack where the pizas, hispanic inmate, not californian, so to speak. and northern hispanic, there's an area where they are at. the yard is segregated based upon those underground rules. >> okay. >> it seems like the black guys got the basketball court, no surprise there. if you're a white guy who wants to play basketball, is it not recommended you go over there? i mean, do they got a good jump shot? >> you may feel that way and it may not feel these guys have an issue with you but the guys that tlook like you may have an issue with you coming over here. >> is there a effort to create

. >> this week on "united shades of america" we're inside one of america's most notorious prisons, san quentintside of being in san quentin. >> the name itself is not the character it produces. it produces positive people. some come here, couldn't read, write, spell, you walk around they're geniuses now. >> since you don't have cell phones you need somebody walking around whose nickname is wikipedia. >> other than that we'd be numbers on the yard. >> how many years do you have? >> 70. i'm on my 40th year. >> wow. >> wow, same thing i say every time i get up in the morning. >> i was hoping you were going to say 6 1/2. >> no. >> sounds unfair, sounds like if you're able to live here and sit here and we're talking. >> because they call this rehabilitation so if you have been rehabilitated you get to a spot like this, there should be some rewards at the end of the game. but it don't seem to be that way. >> watch "united shades of america" at 10:00 eastern here on cnn. >> that will do it for us. >> "inside politics" with john king starts now. >>> is this the ticket? >> you deserve to know exactly w

it was forged by inmate welders at san quentin from 1952. of the jails in prison that offer vocational trading, welding has always been aamong the most common about. 20 miles south of sacramento's downtown jail sits its branch facility. it's here inmate welders carry on the tradition. >> you get that 9:00 to 5:00 job feeling like you're back on the streets working a job. i've been on a hiatus the last ten years doing nothing. at 52, i guess it's time i start doing what i should have probably been doing years ago. >> overton is serving one year on his laters conviction, possession of a firearm by a felon. >> i haven't been in this jail since '90 something. i thought i would never see the inside of this one again. >> he served time in jail several times over the past 25 years on multiple counts of forgery, identity theft and drug possession. >> i've got the experience of welding. keep a job and get money put away finally instead of screwing around like an idiot like i have been a few years. >> the more experienced inmates take on jobs for outside clients such as thi

." >>> the number of units here at san quentin has grown beyond the capacity of this prison and what. >> free us. free us. >> i took sociology in college. and you can stack a bunch of rats together. eventually they t

san quentin. he how medical problems. his son has had to quit his job to care for him and didn't receive much medical information from the prison department. >> they didn't tell me information, how he takes his meds or everything. >> jones says he appreciates how his family is taking care of him and wants the money for him and his ten children. >> can it still be a happy life for you? not really happy. but more so enjoyable. >> the payment to luther jones still must be approved by the state legislature and the governor. and we are told that should be a formality. >> it makes you angry thinking 20 years of his life taken away. he looks frail. can he even walk by himself or is he under the care of his son? >> under the care of his son and he goes to a rehab center. interesting when he went to prison he was strapping 250 250- pound man and he got sick and deteriorated to the condition he is in now. >> why now after all of these years did the girl speak out? >> she grew up. she was ten years old when she testified and now she is close to 30 and i'm told that by the district attorney that if it was bothering her, it was on her consc