>> 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." in america's prisons violence is a way of life. [ screaming ] 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. >> this happened a couple days ago. >> 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. ♪ 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, t

>> 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 can't try to be

>> 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 3,000 inmates ranging from the most violent offenders in california. >> i'll rob you in a minute. >> 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 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 while awaiting permanent transfer to other facilities. >>

san quentin and these fellows are getting a lifeline and they are partnering with the prison and taking the concept of rehab to another world. suzanne shaw has the story. >> behind the daunting walls of san quentin staten, inside this old machine shop, convicted felons are reaching for the stars. >> the whole nasa thing is just, wow. you don't even get that at the best technical school in the country. to get that in prison. >> studying math and science and under the strict supervision of nas a they are building cubes that may some day carry miniature satellites into space. >> do you actually program this? >> yes, we do. we actually sit here and tircnk around with the codes. >> they are proud of what they have learned. pa. >> you couldn't use any tools? >> i didn't know the names of them or how to use them. >> richard runs the metal shop. >> i'm really finicky about the work they do. >> a veteran of many aerospace jobs, the peace keeper missile and the space shuttle, this job is the most rewarding. >> to not only watch the guys use their skills, their machine skills and their life skills as well. >> here the inmates help each other, a stark contrast to the outside yard where turf is divided by race. bl

. >> 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

. >> eventually transferred to san quentin state prison, the man who is arguably california's most violentnmate 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. in the when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. ♪ secondhand smoke affects everyone's health. it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death. speak up about secondhand smoke. your health and the health of your family depend on it. >>> every day

. >> 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. >>> every day in america's prisons correctional officers are searching for them. >> a lot of these weapons were confiscated on the yards. >> in prison slang they're known as shanks. they're the deadly weapons inmates create from behind bars, with an ingenuity that almost defies imagination. >> what they'll do is get a disposable razor, put both blades, one on each side of the toothbrush. they come across their enemy. and slice them across the neck. because the two blades are so wide apart, it just filets the individual wide open. >> inmates will do almost anything to hide the weapons they spend so much time manufacturing. >> the first one looks like a wire shank. these are all covered or wrapped in some kind of latex material and then lubricated with whatever they can find. >> how long c

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, and 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. >> 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 those g

joseph de la cruz is a gang dropout, serving nine years for attempted murder at california san quentin state prisonfirst met him, authorities had just discovered that he had been assaulted inside his protective custody cell. >> this morning, you come out of your cell, we did a sweep to find out how many people stayed behind. you were discovered with injuries. and here's the medical report. >> despite obvious injuries, de la cruz refused to give correctional staff any information about the attack. >> we're trying to find out who -- i want to tell them what happened. >> any specific individuals you know are your enemies? >> no, sir. >> how about any prison weapons offenses? >> no, sir. >> do you belong to a gang? >> no, i don't. >> aside from what you're being accused of being a victim, are you involved in any other batteries in your history? >> no. >> due to this threat, you are deemed a threat to the safety and security of the institution, to staff and inmates. >> escort! >> without good information about what prompted the attack and whether this attack could lead to others the prison decides to pl

san quinton state prison. gangs, drugs and sheer boredom make up a violent mixz. this is lockup san quentin. extended stay. san quentin serves 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. and in the circles they travel in, unfortunately, it is. you know, i made it. i'm in the state prison now. >> narrator: with repeat offenders clogging up the works, the officers struggled to keep the inmates under control. >> control. be advised we have an alarm in south block. >> i can only speculate. the only thing i think of is we have a missing inmate. >> my name is kavinsky. i've had this prison number since i was 18 years old. i just turned 37 on february 15th. from the discharge for this prison system, i met it by about four days. >> you know what, for the record, show that these people are harassing me for some reason. >> each inmate is assigned a security risk classification score based on his record and conduct