Written by Andrew Morris
Governor Newsom has announced his plan to dismantle California’s death row prisons this week in light of his mandatory three year old suspension on executions, in addition to a 16 year period without such executions.
Specifically, Newsom seeks to refashion San Quentin State Prison’s death row ward into a “positive, healing environment” for inmates that have had significant pressure over many years due to their circumstances.
Such high-security prison wards are quite expensive to run independent from other systems, especially considering the low number of prisoners and high statutory regulations.
“We are starting the process of closing death row to repurpose and transform the current housing units into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation,” states California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Vicky Waters.
Others like the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation supported the motion. “The underlying motive of the administration is to mainstream as many of these condemned murderers as possible,” CJLF president Michael Rushford commented. He added that, “our objective was to speed up the process,” in this case, but noted that the victims were not happy with these decisions.
Alternatively, groups like Death Penalty Focus, though happy with the decision, are concerned the measure will put a target on the inmates’ backs as they integrate into standard prison life. “We’re talking about people who have been in a specific kind of isolation for decades. To simply move them without very serious consideration for their needs, their personal issues, their psychological state and their safety would be a hideous mistake,” said Mike Farrell, president of the group.
Newsom plans to implement a $1.5 million budget to convert the multi-million dollar facilities. Waters commented however, that the $853,000 execution chamber would have no “repurpose” potential going forward, essentially losing at least that much for the state, as it will most likely be torn down once ground is broken.
Photo Cred: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/ Brittanica
