Lethal Injection Chamber, San Quentin State Prison, California, United States

The use of torture as an approved method of interrogation at San Quentin was banned in 1944.
Alfredo Santos, one-time convicted heroin dealer and successful artist, painted six remarkable, 20 ft (6.1 m) sepia toned murals during his 1953-1955 incarceration that have hung in the dining hall of the prison.
Lawrence Singleton, who raped a teenaged girl and cut off her forearms, spent a year on parole in a trailer on the grounds of San Quentin between 1987 and 1988 because towns in California would not accept him as a parolee. Between 1992 and 1997, a "boot camp" was held at the prison that was intended to "rehabilitate first-time, nonviolent offenders"; the program was discontinued because it did not reduce recidivism or save money.
A 2005 court-ordered report found that the prison was "old, antiquated, dirty, poorly staffed, poorly maintained with inadequate medical space and equipment and overcrowded." Later that year, the warden was fired for "threaten disciplinary action against a doctor who spoke with attorneys about problems with health care delivery at the prison." By 2007, a new trauma center had opened at the prison and a new $175 million medical complex was planned.