prison

Walking death row at San Quentin State Prison

Nancy Mullane — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:44:32 +0000

San Quentin State Prison has four massive cell blocks, each identified by their cardinal direction: north, south, east, and west. Of the four, only one houses inmates sentenced to death. None of the cell blocks have been visited by a reporter since 2007.

Behind the walls of California's most restricted cells

Nancy Mullane — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This story was the first of a six-part series following Nancy Mullane in her efforts to increase media access to prisons. It first aired in October 2012. It begins seven hours north of San Francisco in Crescent City and Pelican Bay State Prison. That’s where more than 1,100 of the inmates considered the most dangerous and influential in the state are locked up in the state’s Security Housing Unit also known as the SHU.

Dispatches from the Inside: Expectations, regulations and the realities of parole

Richard Gilliam — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:04:50 +0000

As a prisoner, I am often reminded that the CDCR requires me to follow its rules. That’s understandable, rules and regulations ensure that operations run safely and smoothly. When an inmate can’t or won’t follow the rules, negative consequences are triggered to urge him or her to do so in the future. But what happens when the CDCR doesn’t follow its own rules? Where are the negative consequences to them? Apparently there are none. But there are negative consequences to inmates, and to the community, when the Department of Corrections can’t follow its own rules. Let me explain.

The search for redemption: an ex-con's perspective

Nancy Mullane — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Between 2000 and 2009, 57,000 men and women convicted of murder were released from state and federal prison.

By the time convicted murderers are released, they’ve usually served decades behind bars; they’re a generation older than when they went to prison. When they come out, they often fade from view – no sensational headlines, no fanfare. They make their way on the outside in a world that’s can be very different from the one they left.

How can someone who murders re-enter society?

Ali Budner — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:15:00 +0000