Marin Voice: From inside San Quentin, Newsom’s plan doesn’t hold up

I was glued to my television in my prison cell when the local news coverage showed a distressing sight: ambulances rushing in and out of San Quentin State Prison, their sirens blaring as people incarcerated struggled to breathe due to COVID-19.

It was a stark realization that the supposedly grand $175 million hospital built within the prison’s walls couldn’t provide adequate care. This incident, back in the summer of 2020, is one of many that forced me and others to question Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed plans for San Quentin’s future.

As a policy alum of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights who is currently incarcerated in the prison, it feels imperative to describe some of the flaws in the proposal to demolish, rebuild and “rebrand” San Quentin. It’s time to advocate for more meaningful change that prioritizes rehabilitation and community well-being.

First, as part of Newsom’s revised state budget, he requested a staggering $360.6 million to construct new wings for the so-called San Quentin “Rehabilitation Center.” The California Legislature, emboldened by a highly critical report from the state’s own nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, rightly rejected this spending request because it would ultimately prove worthless.

The focus on new buildings fails to address the broader reality: San Quentin is California’s oldest state prison with infrastructure – and a disturbing culture – that’s potentially beyond repair.

Next, instead of sinking more money into a wasteful $14.2 billion annual budget, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation should be investing in community-based resources to increase the likelihood of incarcerated individuals returning home.

Impacts from the climate crisis and future pandemics remain genuine threats to California residents, nowhere more so than inside of prisons. If Newsom wants San Quentin to be a “homecoming project,” as he said at his press conference on March 17, he could start by fully exercising the power of his office to grant more compassionate releases of incarcerated people who are over age 50 and have been imprisoned for more than 25 years.

Additionally, for those who remain in San Quentin, the state should think about how to reduce the harms the prison inflicts. CDCR could cap the San Quentin population at 100% of design capacity so that administrators can house people less harmfully. San Quentin could re-up programming, returning to the earlier practice of holding 70-120 programs with over 3,000 volunteers.

Proper care and support for those inside comes from peers, loved ones and community-based organizations, not bricks and bars.

Prison officials should ensure incarcerated people have access to healthy food items. There are many foods like dried fruits, vegetables and some legumes that are available in vendor catalogs, but are nonetheless prohibited.

Moreover, with the availability of Pell grants, providing incarcerated individuals with computer laptops would enable them to pursue online education from various colleges and universities. Tablets can be filled with self-help books, audiobooks, correspondence courses and videos teaching emotional intelligence, communication skills, financial literacy, reentry skills and healthy eating habits.

Finally, even something as simple as guards calling people by their actual names – not “inmate,” or worse – can reduce harmful impacts on those incarcerated.

Throwing money at an issue without a plan does nothing to solve it. Currently incarcerated people demand better-defined objectives, the inclusion of our voices and an unwavering commitment to implementing real solutions.

The “California Model,” as San Quentin’s rebranding framework has been dubbed, is not scalable – it would cost more than $20 billion over 25 years to implement in prisons statewide.

People living in California prisons deserve real change. Rather than pouring more money into dilapidated prisons, the state should adopt a comprehensive roadmap to close more prisons across California.

Such a plan must include new resentencing measures and must shift cost savings from closed prisons towards reentry programs, job training, housing assistance, education grants, mental health support, substance abuse treatment and more.

Many incarcerated people are working toward the chance to successfully reintegrate back into society. Newsom proposed a “homecoming project” – isn’t it time more people in prison came home to communities better prepared to support them?

Steve Brooks is an award-winning journalist, editor-in-chief of San Quentin News, assistant producer for the Ear Hustle podcast and an alum of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights’ Inside Outside Policy Fellowship.