Marc Howard visits it:
Some inmates actually have the option to be in a lower-security facility within California, but they still request San Quentin, which they insist is the best of the state's 33 prisons, for one simple reason: the programs. There is no other correctional institution where prisoners can take courses taught by world-class instructors ("I'm taking a great Sociology class right now," Raphael, the team captain, told me) and play sports with people from the outside. It's almost enough to make them forget about that tiny cell where they spend most of their time.
(Photo: A view of the California State Prison at San Quentin May 15, 2009 in San Quentin, California. By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Dish 