Inside San Quentin's University Project

Tag : Documentary Bag

SAN QUENTIN, California (CNN) -- San Quentin Prison sits like a fortress along the bay justnorth of San Francisco. It is bordered by some of the mostexpensive residential real estate in the country. But at the edgeof this scenic peninsula, 5,400 inmates are locked up.
San Quentin has California's only death chamber, with 656 inmateswaiting to be executed.
On death row, each prisoner is confined to a cell just large enoughfor a bed and toilet.
Walking along these multitiered cells, where each inmate is closelymonitored or escorted in shackles, reminded me of all the pain andgrief endured by relatives and friends of victims like LaciPeterson, Polly Klaas or Christine Orciuch, a mother of three whowas shot to death by gang member Marcus Adams in front of her10-year-old son during a bank robbery in Santa Barbara.
Less than a few hundred yards from death row, the climate is vastlydifferent.
We found makeshift classroom bungalows and an exercise yard whereinmate Larry Faison was performing the tunes of Miles Davis withhis vintage trumpet. This environment looked and felt more like acommunity college setting.

This is where low- and midlevel convicts are able to get out once aday. There is a tennis court, a punching bag, a baseball stadiumdonated by the San Francisco Giants, a library and visitinginstructors from prestigious universities.
Lt. Sam Robinson, a 27-year veteran of San Quentin , gave a tour of 27 vocational programs run by about 3,000volunteers as part of the Prison University Project, a nonprofiteducation program that offers many black men an opportunity to earn an associate of arts degree. It helpsgive those eligible for parole the intellectual tools to compete ina vastly changing job market. Inmate: It took coming to prison to see someone in school »
Advocates say that many black men imprisoned across America,particularly nonviolent drug-related offenders, have enormouspotential to become productive, law-abiding members of societythrough higher education in prison.
University of California at Berkeley professor Rebecca Cartervolunteers as a biology instructor at San Quentin. During her firstsemester, she was startled by what she discovered.
"I've been teaching on the Cal campus and teaching at theprison at the same time, and they were significantly more engagedwhen I was in the prison," Carter told CNN's Soledad O'Brien."Not always more in command with the subject matter but moreengaged, doing the homework, asking questions because they werepassionate about learning." Tour San Quentin's Prison University Project »