Selected Stories From Past Issues of The San Quentin News
JUNE 11, 1982 – A lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates by the Prison Law Office has temporarily blocked CDC officials from implementing their Work Training Incentive Program. Inmates claim the plan provides no incentive to work, and is merely a means to deprive inmates of rights to which they are entitled by law, such as visiting, canteen, telephones, yard, etc.
JUNE 11, 1982 – An officer was stabbed in the chest by an inmate in the Adjustment Center, but a calculator in his pocket managed to deflect the blow. Staff located a prison-made weapon following the incident.
JUNE 11, 1982 – Recent court rulings preventing prison officials from censoring inmate newspapers have led CDC officials to consider discontinuing prison newspapers. Warden Reginald Pulley believes he should have the right to prohibit pornographic or inflammatory materials.
JUNE 11, 1982 – A con was listed in critical condition after treatment for a stab wound he received on the upper yard May 22. No weapon or suspect was found. Meanwhile, on May 18 a con found lying on the tier in Alpine Section was hospitalized for treatment of stab wounds. Two shanks were found. On the Carson Section yard May 24, a gunman fired six shots to break up an altercation between five cons. On May 30, the gymnasium gunrail officer fired four warning shots to prevent inmates from interfering with staff as they attempted to subdue an unruly con. A fistfight between bayside East Block inmates on May 13 was broken up when a gunman fired one warning shot.
JUNE 11, 1982 – SQTV will begin airing a five–part series that will allow you to earn your GED without ever leaving your cell. The segments will cover the five parts of the GED exam.
SEPT. 24, 1982 – Five men from the mainline population met behind closed doors with six members of the Law and Justice Committee of the Marin County Grand Jury on Sept. 13. The two groups discussed a wide range of issues that have cropped up at the prison of late.
SEPT. 24, 1982 – Convict Stuart Allen Bogert, 24, slipped over a “blind spot” on the prison wall Friday and is still missing. He apparently climbed over a section of the wall that cannot be seen by tower guards. Inmates will no longer be allowed in that area after dark.
SEPT. 24, 1982 – Approximately 89 inmates living on the fifth tier in Alpine Section were evacuated for a time Sept. 15 while a fire in the access maintenance alley was brought under control. The fire was started when an inmate lighted a fire in his toilet. The heat in the pipes caused the insulation to ignite. The fire was controlled within minutes with no injuries.
SEPT. 24, 1982 – More than 5,000 inmates who received Social Security benefits have been dropped from the disability rolls for a savings of $25 million a year. 5,109 convicts have been removed so far, 800 more are in the process of being eliminated and 1,000 additional cases are being reviewed. The cons received an average of $322 per month.
SEPT. 24, 1982 – The showing of feature length movies for entertainment has returned to SQTV. The movies were suspended last January after the department received copyright infringement complaints from the motion picture industry. The movies were restored after an opinion from the attorney general that said they could be aired if they were obtained from an appropriate distributor.
