The Last Mile inmate coding program, Code.7370, has designed a new website for San Quentin News at www.sanquentinnews.com. Inmate Harry Hemphill built the website. He graduated from the coding class in April 2015. His work is the third iteration of the website since it debuted in 2010. “I’ve acquired a lot of technical skills,” said Hemphill. “I’m passionate about giving back to the community.” According to Hemphill, the project was budgeted for 150 hours of work, but he said it probably took a little more time. He said working on … [Read more...] about SQN launches new website, SanQuentinNews.com
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Hip-Hop artist J. Cole visits San Quentin
Platinum Hip-Hop artist Jermaine Cole (“J. Cole”) used a day off during his tour to come see mass incarceration up close. In a two-hour visit with a juvenile lifer support group at San Quentin, Cole reaffirmed his belief that we need education instead of mass incarceration. Scott Budnick, producer of the Hangover movie series and founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, invited Cole to visit the Kids Creating Awareness Together (Kid CAT) group. By working together, Budnick, Kid CAT members and many others have gotten some harsh laws … [Read more...] about Hip-Hop artist J. Cole visits San Quentin
San Quentin celebrates Day of Peace 2017
The rehabilitative spirit flowed deeply at San Quentin’s 11th Annual Day of Peace celebration. The San Quentin community came together on the Lower Yard to build relationship bridges and support the incarcerateds’ transformation. “This is a day I want to share with the spirit of Tiffany Dawn Boyce,” said Carlos Smith, who drew a mural as a memorial to his crime victim. “It’s a time of remembrance, and I want to share this with her family in this time of healing.” The celebration was born out of a violent race riot in 2006, just before a … [Read more...] about San Quentin celebrates Day of Peace 2017
Inmates striving to become working citizens
The dozens of employers and organizations that support rehabilitation by visiting San Quentin to interview inmates have captured the attention of the state’s top corrections official. In May, the prison hosted its fifth Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) event in two years. This time, Scott Kernan, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), took notice. “It was really important to be here today,” said Kernan. “It’s a very common-sense objective to get people employed.” He said Gov. Jerry Brown is … [Read more...] about Inmates striving to become working citizens
‘Get on the Bus’ unites children with their incarcerated parents
Ana González-Lane says she was “pretty scared and freaked out” the first time she came into San Quentin State Prison nine years ago. “It was such a frightening place,” she said. “It’s meant to be intimidating, and it was.” She now realizes San Quentin is not the dangerous place most people believe it to be, after seeing the impact of children interacting with their fathers. She remembered watching a little boy, about 3 years old, run to his father like “a ball of energy, yelling, ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ It was at that point that I realized my … [Read more...] about ‘Get on the Bus’ unites children with their incarcerated parents
182 women serving life without parole
Being sentenced to die in prison is a hard pill to swallow, especially if you are a woman. California women’s prisons house roughly 182 women sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). The women describe themselves as “the lost population.” “My biggest dream was to become a mother and have two children,” Tammy Garvin said. “I lost that with this sentence. When I leave this world, I will leave no legacy.” These women have been labeled “the worst of the worst,” hopeless and beyond redemption, by the state of California, according to A Living … [Read more...] about 182 women serving life without parole
S.Q. News Editor Harry O Departs
After 23½ years in federal and state prisons, Michael R. Harris was released from San Quentin State Prison on Oct. 11, 2011. He has been active in numerous self-help organizations and was a leader in resurrecting the San Quentin News 3 ½ years ago. Without going into the details of your case, can you tell me what happened? I became accustomed to surviving on the hard streets of Los Angeles at a young age. I made a lot of money in the drug business. When I opened my eyes to all of the lives I had helped to destroy, it was too late. To this … [Read more...] about S.Q. News Editor Harry O Departs