A $1.5 million electrified fence, which could cause instantaneous death for escaping inmates and which was the first of its kind among California state prisons, was installed in November 1993.

The smell of cow manure pervades the prison and the entire area due to large cattle feed lots nearby.

Angelo Buono, Jr. (also known as the Hillside Strangler) died at CAL in September 2002 of a "massive heart attack.

[12] A guard shot and killed an inmate with a Ruger Mini-14 semiautomatic rifle, which was believed to have contributed to ending the violence.

[12] A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated that the disturbance involved Hispanic gang members.