In the spring 2015, we at COM took a tour of San Quentin, the most famous prison due to its location with views of Mt Tam and the SF bay but also famous for housing the most infamous criminals, such as Richard Ramirez, Scott Peterson, Richard Allen Davis and the Trailside killer. Our college is interested in pursuing a partnership. My first impression is the medieval buildings, the barbwire, the guard towers, the flag at half mast in honor of the fallen officers, and the constant stream of well armed guards walking across the courtyard, during shift change. After our introduction by the wonderful Lieutenant Sam Robinson, San Quentin’s Public Information Officer, we met with 8 “lifers’ who spoke about being incarcerated. A small Caucasian man was incarcerated under the 3 strikes law, all strikes as a result of burglary; he got $40 out of the cash register. What you don’t hear is the long rap sheet these guys had prior to the 3 strikes. Another African American man came up for parole, but had never been in a room facing so many white folks, couldn’t verbalize himself and was denied parole. One inmate has never held a cell phone. Interestingly, all those who were approved or earned parole on life sentences, the recidivism rate is less than 1%. All of them said they were eager to learn. As we continued our tour and the inmates left, one inmate sauntered back to his cell playing a mean bluesy harmonica.

Next, we toured through the million dollar medical facility. The triage, ED was well equipped and spacious but not much activity. Everything seemed orderly and to be going on behind closed, locked doors. The psychiatric facility was daunting, group therapy for the hardened criminals was conducted with inmates in locked cages. Every inmate has access to health care they just have to wait longer to be seen by a RN and MD. There is 1:1 volunteers to the 4000 inmates, proving San Quentin the preferred prison, than say, Folsom. The recreation yard is massive with views looking west on Mount Tam, 101 and barbwire.  There’s a tennis court, basketball courts and a number of punching bags, and built in chairs and tables. Each area of the yard is ethnically designated, at times 2000 inmates with only three guards on the ground. Striking, is the daunting plastered smooth brick wall, 30 feet high. Still the last escape was in 1990 an inmate had only 3 more months before being released and scaled the wall to freedom, while the guard in the watchtower was waxing his floors. The escapee was never heard from again, both the guard and warden were promptly fired.

The tour seemed a little dilute visiting their million dollar medical facility and the outside yard with its beautiful views until we toured inside the 5 story cell block where we were surrounded by inmates in their usual day-to-day activities. There was a row of old fashion phone booths but without doors where many were sitting and talking. I was reminded “there is no privacy in prison.” A couple men were ironing their shirts, others were reading the San Quentin News, while others were simply lounging, walking slowly if walking at all. There were 5 floors, with 13 stairs between floors, the top floor was the death row inmates, including Scott Peterson’s cell. Notably, every window had 13 bars.

Inside the cramped 4×9 cell includes a bunk bed, a camping mattress, sink, toilet and shelves, organized with books and toiletries. From 845 to 745 they are locked inside, but there is a light they can control. The inmates get two hot meals and a box lunch they can eat anywhere. And they have that 7-Eleven type of store they can buy things to eat and heat up on a hot plate, no microwave. I didn’t see anybody overweight. In the 70s, the minimum wage to work there is $.13 an hour but now it’s $.75 to a dollar an hour. They can earn $120 a month working full-time. A portion of that money goes to the San Quentin prison for room and board and a portion goes to the state of California, whatever’s left the inmate earns. Scott Peterson is housed on the top floor designated death row, alone in a 4 x 9 prison cell. Lieutenant Sam Robinson confirms that he continues to be a model prisoner and is the representative of the death row inmates. When the Lieutenant candidly said, he printed a picture of his new baby boy in the San Quentin News, every inmate congratulated him and was quite animated except for Scott Peterson’s reaction who didn’t respond and was rather morose.

Lastly, while Administration had their meeting, we visited the Execution chamber with just a small group. The entrance was a hole in the wall, in the back of the prison, behind a steel door resembling a medieval dungeon. Back in 1985 when DNA was used to convict, San Quentin tested all their inmates on death row expecting some to be exonerated and instead everybody was found guilty. Not only guilty but found responsible for additional murders across the nation.  The oldest death row prisoner is 85 years old, the trailside killer who killed a number of people in Cowell park Santa Cruz and Mount Tamalpais in the 70s-80s. Legally, death row inmates are allowed a choice of lethal injection or gas chamber. No inmate has ever been able to choose so the legal default position, is lethal injection.  We visited the gas chamber where they use cyanide-the chamber’s door looked like a submarine hatch. There were three phones because one execution was stayed because they dialed Pizza Hut by mistake and the guy was dead before the stay of execution came through so now they have three numbers or three phones available.  Otherwise, the condemned is strapped and literally locked in. Indeed, the curtains open and there still remains a circle of chairs facing the inmate, for the families to witness the execution seeking a degree of closure, or not. Currently, there is a moratorium on executions in the state.

At 4pm, as we were leaving San Quentin, we heard ringing of the prison bell 13 times, that symbolized all inmates were accounted for. 13 bars, 13 stairs, 13 ringing bells constantly remind the inmates of their bad luck and the 12 members of the jury and judge, that condemned them.