Undercover Reporting

VII-"A Brutal Beating In the Kern Jail" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

In the Pre-Dawn, a Man is Marked Up for Life

1953-02-03

A man, moaning loudly somewhere outside my cell block, woke me suddenly that Saturday night in the Kern County Jail at Bakersfield.

VI-"Alcoholic as 'Tank Judge'" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

Reporter 'Does Time' at Bakersfield, Again Finds Bad Food, Overcrowding

1953-02-01

Duggan, "The Duke," a tall, thin dark-haired alcoholic met me as I walked into block "Left Three" of the Kern County Jail at Bakersfield on a sunny Friday morning two weeks ago. He was the assistant Tank Judge.

V-"Sex Perverts, Extortionists Run the Cells" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

1953-01-30

"A 23-year-old electrician, convicted of drunk driving, was shoved into a large tank cell in a Southern California County Jail two weeks ago. A squat man, languishing on the lower bunk of one of the small cells inside the tank rose to his feet. . ."

IV-"In S.F. Cell at 18, Al Learned Paths of Crime" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

1953-01-29

"It was in 1941 that Al, an 18-year-old from San Joaquin Valley, came to San Francisco to see how he could make it out on his own in the big city. He was broke and friendless. One day, he spotted a new red bicycle in front of a house out in the avenues. He needed transportation, so he stole the bike. It was the first time he had ever committed a crime of any sort. Two days later, he was caught. . ."

III-"Ugly Violence Behind Bars" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

Reporter Tells How Cellmate Blew His Top

1953-01-28

"There was violence, sudden and ugly, in the San Joaquin County Jail in downtown Stockton on Saturday night. It came without warning. We had just finished our evening meal, a poorly cooked stew, when the cell door opened and a man in his late forties was shoved in the door. He was neatly dressed in a sports jacket and slacks, with a pale green sports shirt. As soon as the door closed behind him, he began to beat on the door's bars with his bare fists. . ."

II-"Sordid Life in County Jails Exposed" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

A Reporter's Inside Story

1953-01-27

"After my first night 'on the boards' in the San Joaquin County Jail at Stockholm, it was with great relief that I learned I would get a bed to sleep in over the weekend. I had just made a routine appearance in court on the 'drunk charge' and the Judge had ordered me held over the week end for trial on Monday. . ."

I-"County Jails Exposed -- Story of Cruelty, Filth" - Pierre Salinger - San Francisco Chronicle

Exclusive: Inside California's Jails. Brutality ... Crowded Cells. Chronicle Reporter Does Time: Shocking Account

1953-01-26

"I heard a heavy jail door clang behind my back two weeks ago. A Stockton policeman firmly led me by the arm to a battered desk. An inmate trusty looked at me unsmilingly and said: 'Empty your pockets on the desk' . . ."