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San Quentin, California 94964
Population: 3,243
Prison workers paid pennies
Arizona inmates work in a variety of jobs inside and outside prisons for wages ranging from 10 cents an hour to a minimum wage of $12.80. Prisoner job assignments have a hierarchy and can be split into a four-tiered system based on skill and pay, according to a report resulting from a 15-month-long investigation by The Arizona Republic and KJZZ News. The bottom tier represents 92% … Read Full Article
Additional Recent Stories
Giving back: Ex-prisoners create Freedom Libraries
Literature empowerment takes the form of mobile libraries Former prisoners are bringing literary empowerment to state prisons through a book accessibility project called “Freedom Libraries.” The Freedom Libraries consist of 500 carefully selected books curated by “thousands of poets, novelists, philosophers, teachers, friends and various readers” that are available to incarcerated readers. … Read Full Article
Reformed prisoner awaits clemency hearing after 50 years in prison
After serving more than a half of century in a Massachusetts prison for first-degree murder, Ramadan Shabazz, aka James Hall, could soon be granted clemency. A parole board could soon reduce his charges to second-degree murder, which would make him eligible for parole, wrote Adrian Walker in the Boston Globe. “I really believe that clemency is so important and plays such an important role … Read Full Article
SQ residents observe annual Day of Peace
After 15 years, the event’s original legacy is in danger of being forgotten In 2006, Blacks and Mexicans rioted on San Quentin’s Lower Yard. As the chaos unfolded, Tung Nguyen and other members of a self-help group, TRUST, were leading a group of about 50 civilian volunteers to a Black History event on the Yard. When he noticed the danger, he redirected them to safety. Gerardo … Read Full Article
Abuse survivor becomes rehabilitation activist, transforms lives through HEART program
Program’s powerful curriculum built on founder’s real-life experience October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month Cherie McNaulty, a crime survivor, turned a horrible ordeal into educating San Quentin residents on the impact of domestic violence. The Healing, Empowerment, Accountability, Restoration and Transformation (HEART) program helps incarcerated participants to recognize the … Read Full Article
Mandela Act could restrict solitary confinement in California prisons
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has an opportunity to sign a bill into law that would end solitary confinement in all of the state’s lockups for pregnant women, for persons with recognized disabilities, and for those younger than 25 or older than 59. AB 2632, also known as The California Mandela Act, is authored by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena). The bill would prohibit keeping people in … Read Full Article
GRIP GRADS LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Flagship program equips prisoners with tools for life outside of prison Four graduating Tribes of the GRIP program (Guiding Rage into Power) were honored during a two-day event in San Quentin’s Chapel B in August. Present to celebrate the event with the 64 graduates were state officials including a senator, San Quentin Warden Ron Broomfield and other prison staff, GRIP officials and … Read Full Article
Salvadorian artist’s patriotism flows in shades of blue
Juan C. Sanchez, 28, uses blue ink to sketch portraits, classic cars and roses, on handkerchiefs. “I really don’t remember when I started drawing. I know that I started doodling when I was in sixth grade— my thing was cartoons,” Sanchez said. He said he became an artist in order to express what he was thinking. While in high school, Sanchez loved drawing houses and buildings … Read Full Article
Chromebooks for SQ coders
The Last Mile, CDCR collaborate to sponsor laptop program for SQ coders San Quentin prisoners are participating in a first-of-its-kind program that allows them to take laptop computers back and forth to their cells. Acer Chrome Book computers have been assigned to prisoners in The Last Mile’s Coding 7370 program. “We get to use them in our cells to do our assignments, … Read Full Article
SQNews wins again at California Journalism Awards
The California News Publishers Association recognized San Quentin News writers with seven awards in its 2021 California Journalism Awards Print Contest. For coverage of youth and education, Managing Editor Charles Crowe received Second Place and Spanish Journalism Guild Chair Edwin E. Chavez received Fifth Place. For editorials, Editor-in-Chief Marcus Henderson received Second, Third, and … Read Full Article
LABOR DAY – Incarcerated workers continue toiling for minuscule wages
ACLU: ‘Captive Labor Exploitation’ of incarcerated workers produces billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services In 1852, Fredrick Douglass, the famous slavery abolitionist, gave a spirited speech titled “What, to the American Slave, Is the Fourth of July?” Douglass delivered the speech on July 5 in Rochester, New York, in recognition of the nation’s celebration of its Independence … Read Full Article
Incarcerated women face new post-Roe challenges
In the already high-risk prison environment, incarcerated pregnant women are facing new challenges in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade reversal, according to The Hill. It was difficult even before the High Court’s new ruling for incarcerated women to access basic and essential healthcare items, including menstrual products, not to speak of reproductive care or … Read Full Article
Mark Cadiz’s art honors San Quentin’s Covid deaths
San Quentin News continues to find some of the many hidden treasures within these ancient walls. That includes artists who create based on their own style and imagination, bringing them out of the shadows of incarceration and giving life to their craft. “After my fever broke, I found the pencils, papers, crayons and comic books my mother brought me,” said one of those men, Mark … Read Full Article
Additional Featured Stories
Additional Recent Post
Mandela Act could restrict solitary confinement in California prisons
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has an opportunity to sign a bill into law that would end solitary confinement in all of the state’s lockups for pregnant women, for persons with recognized disabilities, and for those younger than 25 or older than 59. AB 2632, also known as The California Mandela Act, is authored by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena). The bill would prohibit keeping people in … Read Full Article
GRIP GRADS LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Flagship program equips prisoners with tools for life outside of prison Four graduating Tribes of the GRIP program (Guiding Rage into Power) were honored during a two-day event in San Quentin’s Chapel B in August. Present to celebrate the event with the 64 graduates were state officials including a senator, San Quentin Warden Ron Broomfield and other prison staff, GRIP officials and … Read Full Article
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