First let me give you a little background as to why I was there:
In 2007, Kitchell Corporation (my employer at the time) was involved in the construction of new Receiving and Release facilities for several California Department of Corrections (CDCR) facilities. Back then, the way that each prison received and released (R&R) prisoners were different and not standard. CDCR wanted to standardize the processes of R&R across all state prisons in California to make it more efficient and safer for staff and prisoners (for example, accidently putting northern and southern gang members in the same holding tank is not a good idea.)
Our part was to build computer models of each prison’s processes, to identify the best way to do things with the physical constraints of their new facilities. San Quentin’s new R&R facility was the newest building at San Quentin since 1920.
San Quentin is the same age as Alcatraz (1850’s) and in 2006 just updated their phone system. Prior to that, they were still using an operator who would connect phone calls by pulling out and pushing in phone lines. If the operator went to use the restroom…you may be out of luck (no cell phones allowed in the prison) Note: I did not say there were no cell phones in the prison, what I said was, there were no cell phones allowed in the prison .....crazy I know.
Weeks before this visit, I was required to submit several pages of information about myself and fill out many forms in order to get clearance into the prison...I'll mention more about that later.
On our first day, we were met at the gate by a prison staff member and once past the first gate, you are technically in the prison, although it looks more like a college campus with towers that house the snipers. This is where you will find the cafeteria for staff, Wardens office, ammo building, parking lot for staff, etc. Prisoners wearing lime green were allowed to work in this area and are not supervised in any way.
Any prisoner who is not wearing lime green in this area will be shot…there are no warning shots. There are, however, yellow lines throughout the entire prison that are “out of bounds” that prisoners know not to cross.
As we were approaching the second gate, the staff member said, “San Quentin is home to the most sadistic, diabolical, and disgusting people that has ever walked earth, and only some of them are prisoners.” It was this staff member's opinion guards enjoy and take advantage of their position at the prison and are every bit as bad as the prisoners.
As you approach the gate, which is actually a “sally port”, you are greeted by a huge man with a gun. He will check your ID, give you a black light stamp on your hand and then let you into the sally port. Once you pass through this sally port, you are then inside what one would consider the actual prison.
Once inside, the first thing I saw to my surprise, were geese!!! Weird....I know! Evidently some geese had decided to take residence close to the worship center and are allowed to roam wherever. We got a brief tour along the path we took to the R&R center, including memorials for guards that have been killed, churches, murals that prisoners have painted and the exit vents for the gas chamber.
As we walked to R&R center (about a 5 minute walk), I started to notice that we were actually mingling with the general population of the prison, with no guards or any protection. Of course, there were guard towers but for the most part we were walking by, around and through groups of prisoners with no protection.
We finally reached the R&R center, whose entrance is literally in the same yard (a mere 10 feet) where you will find prisoners congregating, playing basketball, doing pull-ups, pushups, etc. Again, with no fence between us and no guards in sight!!! I should state at this point, I was required to sign an acknowledgement that I agreed and understood that I would not be used as a bargaining chip in the event I was to be taken hostage!!!
Once you walk in to the R&R center, you are where the busses pull up with prisoners waiting to be processed into the prison from around the state.
The process is as follows:
Prisoners get off the bus and enter the R&R building one at a time.
Prisoners then remove all of their clothing and stand with their arms extended with their palms up.
They then must open their mouths to show that they have nothing in it.
They must pull down their earlobes to show they don’t have anything behind their ears.
If they have long or bushy hair, they will be required to show that they don’t have anything in their hair.
Then, they must do other various things that I shouldn’t mention to prove that they don’t have any contraband on or in them...and yes....it's exactly what you are thinking!
As this was my first business trip with Kitchell, I was given the honor and privilege of performing time and motion studies on this part of the receiving process…lucky me!
I could tell some of the inmates were thinking “what in the world is this guy doing here with a stopwatch and clipboard???” Funny thing was...I was thinking the same thing!!!
After that, prisoners get issued clothing, go to the photo area, get an eye exam, dental exam, get blood drawn, psychiatric evaluation, etc.
Once the receiving process is complete, prisoners are all put in one of several holding cages where they will wait for their final housing assignments to come in. If by chance, a prisoner needs prescription medication, they will wait in the holding cage until the pharmacy delivers their drugs. The average time it takes for the pharmacy to deliver the prisoner’s drugs is 14 hours!!!
We spent much of our first day and a good part of the second day collecting data, but afterwards we were fortunate enough to take the grand tour. The mural art in the cafeteria was truly amazing! We were taken inside death row, the special needs yard (SNY) which houses inmates that would most likely be killed by other inmates if they were to mix with the general population (this area for me, was the creepiest), and even the old gas chamber (which doubles as the room they do the lethal injections in.)
As we were being escorted by one of the prison psychologists, we were told several firsthand accounts of Richard Ramirez (AKA the night stalker) which I dare not discuss, Scott Peterson, Charles Ng, Tookie Williams (founder of the Crips gang) and others…very interesting!!!
Those death row inmates who are on “good behavior” actually get the top floor to themselves (called “Club dead” as opposed to “Club med”), where they may mingle, play chess, watch TV, breathe fresh air of the bay (on the Roof) and for the most part have a great time.
There are many other stories I could tell about my visit to San Quinton but it would not be suitable or proper to do in this blog.
As one might expect, it was a very interesting and educational experience.
