SACRAMENTO (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who placed a moratorium three years ago on executions, is now moving to dismantle America’s largest death row by moving all of the condemned inmates to other prisons within the next two years.
The goal of the project is to transform San Quentin State Prison’s section into a positive and healing environment.
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Vicky Waters, spokeswoman for the corrections department, said that we are currently closing death row in order to repurpose and transform existing housing units into something innovative and anchored with rehabilitation.
According to the, California, which was the last to execute a man in execution, is one of 28 states with death rows.Death Penalty Information Center.California is merging its condemned prisoners into the general prison population. While Illinois and other states have abolished executions in some cases, there is no expectation that any California inmates will face execution in the near future.
Two years ago, Oregon also transferred its smaller condemned population to inmate housing.
Newsom, a Democrat imposed a moratorium in executions for 2019 and closed the state’s execution chamber at San Quentin (north of San Francisco). His administration is now turning its back on a 2016 voter-approved initiative to speed up executions. It capitalized on one provision that allowed prisoners to be moved from death row.
Corrections officers began a voluntarytwo-year pilot programAs of Friday, January 2020, 116 of the 673 male inmates had been moved to one another prison that has maximum security and is surrounded with lethal electrified fencing.
Waters stated that they would submit permanent proposed regulations within weeks. These regulations would make transfers mandatory and allow for the repurposing all death row housing units.
TheBallot measureThe six-year-old pilot program required that condemned inmates participate in prison jobs. 70% of the money went to restitution to their victims. Corrections officials stated this was their goal with the transfers. The pilot program had already collected over $49,000 in restitution as of the end last year.
Newsom proposes a budget for the fiscal years that begin July 1.seeks $1.5 millionTo find new uses of the condemned vacant housing.
It also notes that death row and its support activities are located in the same area of facilities used for rehabilitation programs for medium security San Quentin inmates. The money would be used by a consultant to create options for (the space) that will foster healing and provide more opportunities for rehabilitation, education, and health care.
Waters said that San Quentins never used the $853,000 execution room. It is located in a separate prison area and there are no plans for repurposing it.
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California voters supported the death penalty in 2016 and 2012, but legislative opponents have stated that they hope to bring the issue back before voters in the future. In November, the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code was the latest advisory panel to Newsom and lawmakers to recommend the repeal of the death sentence.Beyond repair.
Under the states transfer program, inmates can be moved to other prisons.Solitary or disciplinary confinementIf officials decide they can’t be safely housed with other inmates, they will be allowed to be interspersed alongside other inmates. Although death row inmates are typically housed one per cell, transferred inmates may be housed together if it is safe.
Waters stated that there were no safety concerns or major disciplinary problems.
In terms of rehabilitation and employment, inmates sentenced to death row are treated in the same manner as those serving life sentences. According to prison officials this includes maintenance and administrative tasks.
Officials said that condemned inmates are counted frequently and are always supervised during activities.
Current rules allow condemned inmates to be transferred, unless they are in restricted housing because of disciplinary reasons, have pending criminal charges, or have been convicted of certain disciplinary offenses within the last five years.
According to the department, they are also carefully screened to ensure that they are safe to participate in the program. This includes information about each inmate’s security level, medical, psychological, and other needs, as well as their behavior, safety concerns, and notoriety.
Female condemned inmates are housed in the Central California Womens Facility at Chowchilla. They can transfer to less restrictive housing within a prison. Eight of 21 have done so.
The men can be moved to California Correctional Institution or California Medical Facility; California State Prison Corcoran, California State Prison, Corcoran, Centinela State Prison and Kern Valley State Prison; Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility or Salinas Valley State Prison.
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