Wired Article Details Old-Fashioned Electronics at San Quentin

By: Shoshana Walter

If the existence of a San Quentin YouTube channel gives you visions of Web-savvy prisoners perusing the digital world beyond bars, think again.

A Wired article posted today on the mag’s website details the outdated electronics equipment available to inmates in California’s oldest and most notorious prison.

Inmates do not have access to the Net, but do have access to typewriters, fans, televisions and other electronics designed specifically for prison use. They’re allowed CD players, but not mp3 players, and of course, no cell phones, which are being ferreted out of the country’s prisons via trained dogs. The article also mentions that budget cutbacks have resulted in fewer programs for prisoners to develop skills.

Check out the article for tons of pictures.