Oakland bans the box for housing
Ban The Box Oakland is the first city in the state to ban landlords from using criminal convictions to reject renters applying for private or public housing. The City Council unanimously passed the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance that prohibits landlords asking about a previous criminal conviction or denying an applicant with such a … [Read More...]
SQN Johnson earns first Master’s Degree in 10 years
Michael Johnson Striving for a good education has its challenges for anyone, but for incarcerated students those trials and tribulations are greater. However, one incarcerated man has persevered and has become the first student to earn a Master’s of Business and Administration (MBA) degree at San Quentin State Prison in almost a decade. … [Read More...]
144 graduate from Division of Rehabilitative Programs
Incarcerated graduates from Rehabilitative Programs program San Quentin’s gym includes a sign stating “a second chance at a first class life.” One hundred and forty- five incarcerated people celebrated completing the initial step to acquire that second chance on December 18. One-hundred and forty-five men graduated from recovery and life … [Read More...]
An unusual family visit at San Quentin
On the first day of 2020, Marion Wickerd --wife of 1000 Mile Club member Tommy Wickerd—shared a special moment with her husband of 15 years: The Wickerds were spending a family visit together at The Q. However, instead of watching the New Year’s Day Rose Parade on television, the two were going to watch to the 4th Annual San Quentin New Year’s … [Read More...]
Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News
Veteran journalist Ted Koppel got it right when he said William J. Drummond proves to be the right person to tell the tale of San Quentin News (SQN). Drummond’s credibility as the storyteller comes from his long and eventful career as a journalist, UC Berkeley journalism professor and his once or twice a week venture inside the SQN newsroom office … [Read More...]
The Tender Moments of Valentine’s Day
Kate and Eddie Happy Valentine's Day Babe ♥ Love you always ! Tommy and Marion Wickerd Happy Valentine's Day Honey T 26.2 M Team Robert and Erma Guzman Happy Valentine's my precious friend, love and queen xoxo God's great blessing, My amazing grace! Te amo 9/16/19 Raymond ♥ Janet Michael Johnson and Aja Happy V-day! Whitney and Larry … [Read More...]
Film producer and social justice activist Scott Budnick visits San Quentin
Scott-Budnick Film producer and social justice activist Scott Budnick kicked it with youth offenders and spoke to Kid-CAT members about his efforts to put the human face on America’s broken criminal justice system. “This is my favorite group in the whole state,” said the famed producer of The Hangover and the recently released Just Mercy. … [Read More...]
Gavin Newsom will introduce a broader criminal justice reform
California’s Governor Gavin Newson Gov. Gavin Newsom will introduce a broader criminal justice reform package as part of his 2020 prison budget plan. His plans include step down facilities that focus on rehabilitation and reentry options for people being released from custody. He ultimately wants to shut down one of the state's 35 prisons, … [Read More...]
Executive forms organization to help officials curb recidivism
A top Google executive has formed a non-profit organization to help prison officials understand which programs work and don’t work to curb recidivism. “In the criminal justice system today-an incredibly large and important and impactful system-we have none of those same abilities. It’s millions of lives, billions of dollars, and we don’t have a … [Read More...]
SQ keeps tradition of giving
Veterans’ Toys for Tots continues to warm the hearts of many One-and a-half-old Zy'ir Lewis chooses a toy The cheer of Christmas giving filled the San Quentin State Prison visiting rooms as children celebrated the holidays with their incarcerated loved ones in December. “We got absolutely excited!” said 11-year-old Omar Elias, who came … [Read More...]
When sports turn an eye toward prison
Scott Budnick, Vivek Ranadive and Trevor Ariza inside Folsom housing block The Sacramento Kings showed love to Folsom State prisoners during a special night of community healing. In a circle within the prison chapel, they shared life experiences before celebrating Folsom’s newly renovated outdoor basketball court. Kings players, owner Vivek … [Read More...]
WALL CITY Edicion Espanol: Entre el cielo y la tierra
Por Lucía de la Fuente, Editora de español “Nadie puede decir en qué momento comienza el despertar del hombre” (Eduardo Subirats, Utopía y Subversión, 1975, p. 148) En lo que más me fijé la primera vez que te conocí, fue en tus manos. Grandes, con las uñas bien recortadas y con un tatuaje imperfecto. Tus manos siempre cargaban algo: una … [Read More...]
WALL CITY Edición Español: Una política que ha roto sueños
Jennie, Luis y Ojeda y su mamá Lourdes Ortiz Luis Ojeda de 23 años, se encuentra en la Prisión de San Quentin cumpliendo una condena de seis años por asalto agravado. Después de cumplir su sentencia, Ojeda será deportado a la Ciudad de México. Su hermana Jennie, de 21 años, reside, estudia y trabaja en San José. Ella no ha tenido problemas … [Read More...]
World renowned magicians tour and perform at SQ
Kayla Drescher reveals Brandon Riddell-Terrell gets no “date” An international squad of escape artists, grand illusionists, mind readers and tricksters descended on San Quentin State Prison for a special Nov. 26 performance right before Thanksgiving. Set to make their Broadway San Francisco debut later that night, Champions of Magic chose … [Read More...]
Strong turnout and finish for the 13th Annual 1000 Mile Club Marathon
On a clear and crisp Friday morning, 30 of The Q’s 1000 Mile Club members started the race at 8am for 13th Annual SQ Marathon. One of the runners was going to be crowned a champion because the five previous winners were no longer housed at The Q. The favorite for the title, Fidelio Marin, took an early lead and held it for most of the run, … [Read More...]
Bread & Roses perform for Death Row
Entire concert was videotaped for Death Row viewing Prisoners and outside guest Tony Saunders played a concert for the 700-plus men housed on the world’s largest Death Row inside San Quentin State Prison. More than 30 prisoners from the general population did musical performances in the prison’s Catholic Chapel, but due to the security … [Read More...]
Raise The Age law to focus on teens sentenced as adults
By Emily Nonko, Contributing Writer Until this year, New York and North Carolina, were the only states that prosecuted all youth as adults once they turned 16. The Raise the Age law, which went into full effect in New York in October, has raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18. The law is set to change thousands of lives: … [Read More...]
The value of Prison to Employment Connection on returning citizens through job opportunities and connections
Prison to Employment Connection’s Employer Day in November Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) reached a milestone at San Quentin, completing its 10th session and graduating 44 men, who learned how to present themselves to future employers. One of the highlights of the program was Employer Day in November, where 196 interviews took place … [Read More...]
Red Hoop drumming group brings sounds of life to SQ Pow Wow
Participants surrounding the Red Hoop drummers celebrated the unity of the human family The Nevada Red Hoop drumming group brought the sounds of life to San Quentin’s Native American Group Annual Fall Pow Wow. The thumping sounds of traditional drumming filled the prison’s visiting room, blending with the scent of sage, circle dancing and … [Read More...]
Tehachapi hosts 3rd Ethics Bowl against CSU Bakersfield
Submitted by Dian Grier, CCI Press Release CSUB and CCI Debaters of the 3rd Ethics Bowl For the third consecutive year, CCI (California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi) has hosted the annual Ethics Bowl against California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). This year was a tie breaker for CCI, with a 3-0 win. “Intellectual Sports” … [Read More...]
Incarcerated cooks learn top notch skills as they reenter the workforce
A class of men incarcerated at San Quentin graduated from a cooking course aimed at teaching them topnotch skills for reintegration into the workforce once released. Thanks to the Quentin Cooks program, the eight men showcased their newfound skills on Nov. 13 by preparing a four-course meal for visitors from outside the walls of San … [Read More...]
Advocates launch #MeTooBehindBars for those incarcerated
Crowd of participants bringing awareness to #MeTooBehindBars Sexual violence and transphobia in prisons are still taboo topics of discussion, even in the midst of some prison reform efforts nationwide. But a group of victims/survivors and advocates launched the #MeTooBehindBars campaign that aims to influence the #MeToo movement and to … [Read More...]
SF Police personnel visit SQ for second “Blue on Blue” conversation
Small group discussion between the incarcerated and SF police personnel Two dozen San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) personnel made their way across San Quentin’s Lower Yard on Nov. 22 and stood among men they may have previously arrested. It was a part of the second “Blue-on-Blue Conversation” (BBC) held at the prison. Former SF Deputy … [Read More...]
Annual Christmas Banquet brings out the holiday spirit
Guests dining at a previous Christmas Banquet The spirit of the holidays filled the San Quentin Protestant Chapel for more than 300 volunteers and prisoners at the annual Christmas Banquet. “It’s such a joyous occasion. It’s the best day of the year for so many of us!” said Fred Cole, one of about 250 men in blue. Some 50 volunteers … [Read More...]
SQ Transgender Day of Remembrance
Participants hold up trans lives matter sign For the first time in its history, San Quentin State Prison joined the nationwide movement on Nov. 20 to memorialize 22 transpersons killed by hatred across the U.S. in the last year. “Just because I’m not a part of society doesn’t mean that as a transwoman I don’t matter,” said incarcerated … [Read More...]
Ice cream company allies with criminal justice reform
By Alfred King, Journalism Guild Writer Ben & Jerry’s has announced a new ice cream flavor in support of criminal justice reform, “Justice Remix’d.” B&J, well known for its social activism, launched a new flavor chocolate ice cream coupled with gobs of cinnamon bun dough and spicy fudge brownie to “spotlight structural racism … [Read More...]
The Homecoming Project
Where returning citizens find a warm welcome in the homes of local residents People with room for a boarder are helping provide housing for some former California prisoners. The Homecoming program was launched in 2018 in Alameda County to provide formerly incarcerated people places to live — with plans to expand across the United … [Read More...]
In-Depth: From Eastern Europe, Alexandru Singuru
Alex is an Eastern European native of Moldova, and his family migrated to Sacramento when he was ten. He went to Highlands High School, playing volleyball, tennis, soccer and cross country running – his favorite sport. At 15, he started playing basketball just to stay in shape, however, he fell in love with the game and has played it ever … [Read More...]
They risk their lives for as little as $2.90 a day
California's prisoners firefighters receive little benefit for their service on the fire lines More than 3,000 California prisoners help fight the state’s wildfires and are paid well below minimum wages. Inmates who work on active fires are paid between $2.90 and $5.12 a day, and get an additional $1 an hour during an active emergency, … [Read More...]
Hamilton meets Marin Shakespeare at San Quentin
Renowned acting company finds emotional connection with incarcerated actors Cast and crew members from the Broadway San Francisco production of Hamilton reconnected with the San Quentin community at the Oct. 11 Marin Shakespeare performance. First visiting the historic and innovative prison in June, this time the Hamilton gang filled an … [Read More...]
California law paves the way for ex-felons to serve on juries
Formerly incarcerated have hopes to fill jury boxes The California jury system came a major step closer to fairly representing their communities and the criminal defendants they deliberate over thanks to newly signed Senate Bill 310. Starting in 2020, most former felons who have served their time and been discharged from parole or probation … [Read More...]
Alameda County top prosecutor in favor of rehabilitation
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley One of California’s top prosecutors says it’s important to keep deserving persons out of prison and to help deserving incarcerated people build a successful life upon release. Progress toward rehabilitation and strengthening reentry programs for “justice involved” people was discussed at San … [Read More...]
The visionary who resurrected San Quentin News
Former Warden Robert Ayers Jr. Eleven years ago, former San Quentin warden Robert Ayers Jr. pulled the San Quentin News from the dust heap and revitalized the inmate-run publication more than 20 years after it had been officially suspended. Ayers’ decision was a gamble. But it paid off to the benefit of thousands of prisoners and other … [Read More...]
Family, community and music fill Makahiki celebration
Auntie Adel’s Ukelele Group’s Neil Prudente, Chanton Bun, Tith Ton, Jackson, Adel “Auntie” Serafino, Jackson, Moua Vue, Sean Koyota, Patrick Makukane and Louis Salé Sixty men in “Ocean Pacific Blue” along with 24 community members attended an annual Hawaiian celebration called Makahiki, in San Quentin’s Visiting Room on October 4. Family … [Read More...]
Twelve CDCR prisons are in dire need of repair
Don Spector, Director of the Prison Law Office: “Prisons are literally crumbling” San Quentin’s West Block Twelve of California’s oldest prisons are in need of repair or replacement, according a state-commissioned study recently made public. San Quentin State Prison, California’s oldest prison, built in 1852, is one of the 12 prisons … [Read More...]
San Quentin workers donate more than $7,000 to non-profits
San Quentin workers donated more than $7,000 of their paychecks to two non- profit organizations selected by Warden Ron Davis that serve young people in the San Francisco Bay Area. “I took so much from society. Now I can give back,” said Ronald Bruce Carter at the Oct. 15 check presentation. Tracy Herrmann said, “It’s a big difference from … [Read More...]
Air Force vet commits to working with youth organizations
KidCAT’s Will VanBrackle and his wife, Kellene Will VanBrackle served his country in the U.S. Air Force. Now he serves the Bay Area youth community by helping the kids of incarcerated parents through Project Avary—and by volunteering as a KidCAT facilitator inside San Quentin. A troubled youth himself, VanBrackle faced his own life struggles … [Read More...]
Around the World
Andy Alpine, co-facilitator of SQ’s Developing A Positive Attitude, in St. Lucia Project REACH Teacher Nan Sincero at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa Gordon Melvin on the banks of the Peace River in Northern Alberta SQ News Adviser Jan Perry at the Eiffel Tower in Paris … [Read More...]
A journey of recovery and reclamation for Officer Calvo
Correctional Officer Calvo with his kitchen crew Before coming to San Quentin, Correctional Officer Calvo was homeless and living on the streets, alcohol ruining his life. Calvo described himself as a functional alcoholic, who held a job, but was drunk all the time. Due to the progressive nature of alcoholism, his problem got worse over … [Read More...]
Filmmaking team premierès College Behind Bars at SQ
Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) graduates celebrate at Taconic Correctional Facility in June 2017 Acclaimed filmmakers Sarah Botstein and Lynn Novick brought their latest effort, College Behind Bars, to San Quentin for a premierè screening organized through SQ’s Prison University Project (PUP) on Sept. 18. Shot on location inside several east … [Read More...]
Avenal State Prison holds first annual Children’s Hospital art donation
All those who created artwork pieces featuring roses, cards, and knitted R2D2 and BB8 (inserts) for the Valley Children’s Hospital This is the first annual Valley Children’s Hospital hobby donation on C-yard. By Ms. D’s graciousness we were able to host a hobby donation for the children. Those photographed participated by putting their talents … [Read More...]
TRUST facilitators go home but find new blood to lead
TRUST participants, members and facilitators share one last photo before leaving prison Great companies and organizations are the ones that can stand the test of time and San Quentin’s T.R.U.S.T rehabilitative group is one of those programs. The transformative group hosted its 14th Annual San Quentin T.R.U.S.T Graduation Ceremony and … [Read More...]
11 annual Walk for a Cure
Correctional and administrative staff in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month in front of SQ’s Tower 1 A sea of pink flooded the San Quentin Lower Yard as more than 100 prisoners and dozens of volunteers enjoyed a sunny fall weekend to support the fight against cancer. They joined to build, serve and inspire their SQ community in the 11th … [Read More...]
La meta no es solo ganar un maratón sino ganar una batalla de vida
Voluntarios y miembros del 1000 Mile Running Club y miembros del Skid Row club de Los Angeles en la Lower Yard de SQ El 1000 Mile Running Club llevo a cabo la octava carrera anual de tres horas de entrenamiento con miras al maratón del mes de noviembre. Un promedio de 25 corredores se anotaron para participar y batir sus propios records. La … [Read More...]
Raising awareness during 2nd annual Mental Wellness Week
—Joe Garcia —David Ditto and Anthony Faulk contributed CDCR Undersecretary Kathleen Allison, BPH Chief Psychologist Cliff Kusaj and BPH’s Jennifer Shaffer holding up Hope T-shirts Incarcerated and outside members of the San Quentin community joined forces to emotionally support one another and raise awareness during the prison’s second … [Read More...]
No More Tears violence prevention program originates from the heart
No More Tears’ Lonnie Morris right) and members of Healing (center) with Mattie Scott (center for Our Families and Our Nations As the sun was setting on San Quentin, dozens of incarcerated men and Bay Area citizens gathered in the Protestant Chapel to break bread, on Sept. 14, in celebration of No More Tears, a violence prevention … [Read More...]
Pelican Bay inmates break down barriers of stigmatization
The PEACE Group By Little John Perry Over the years, Pelican Bay has been considered the worst prison in California. Since its establishment in 1989, the ‘Bay’ has been infamous for housing the most hardened criminals the state holds– hence the even more infamous Security Housing Unit (SHU). There are countless tales of violence on both … [Read More...]
Local television station honors three with the Jefferson Award for their public service at San Quentin
San Quentin employee Raphaele Casale has been presented The Jefferson Award for Public Service for her behind the scenes community work. Raphaele Casale Casale is an office technician who works in the San Quentin warden’s office. She also runs the prison’s music program and is one of the staff sponsors for the SQUIRES (San Quentin … [Read More...]
KidCAT members unite and bid farewell as leadership roles transition
Youth offenders and prisoners focus on incorporating the entire community The latest graduating cycle of KidCAT’s First Step curriculum marked the end of a distinct era in this ground- breaking program’s history. The youth offender support community celebrated and said heartfelt goodbyes on June 30 to four of its outside volunteer … [Read More...]
San Quentin News staff member David Lê paroles after 13 years
In prison, David B. Lê, 35, is known to many as “the professor.” After serving close to 13 years of a 40-years-to-life sentence, he paroled from San Quentin in July. “David is a young guy with an old soul,” said Tien, an inmate who did not give his full name. “I already miss talking to David and hearing his not-his-age, insightful advice. I’m … [Read More...]
Professional healthcare workers showed up at San Quentin
Personal well-being was the theme of the day at San Quentin’s 16th Annual Health Fair. A diverse array of professionals from the healthcare industry ventured inside the walls of San Quentin to educate the incarcerated about physical and mental health. “Everybody matters and their health should be valued,” said nurse Mike, a volunteer, “I’ve … [Read More...]
21st century training for a brighter job future
By, Juan Haines and Michael Johnson, Senior Editor and Staff Writer. Top officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), as well as personnel from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, celebrated the graduation of dozens of prisoners who completed highly touted apprenticeship programs geared to pre-pare them … [Read More...]
Construction training offers increased job opportunities
A vocational program is changing lives and instilling hope for a positive future for San Quentin prisoners. The construction skills program enables prisoners to qualify for a number of career certifications and union memberships. “This is a tough program that consists of 640 classroom hours, tests, workbook assignments and 280 hours of … [Read More...]
Wall City Volume 2 Issue 2: Fighting Fire While Doing Time
By Elena Mateus with Doug Levy Women battle to continue fighting fires after their releases Many people are surprised to learn that nearly 10 percent of the incarcerated firefighters serving at California's 44 "fire camps" are women. Just like men, the women firefighters get the same training as Cal Fire's other seasonal firefighters- … [Read More...]
WALL CITY, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2: THE WOMAN OF MY TOMORROW
By Myesha Newell There’s a girl i know well who went from court date to court date feeling spiritually drained, having to eat a sack lunch without even so much as water to wash it down. She was constantly in a trance of trying to face the future and detect the unexpected, but at the time she really felt she wasn’t ready for what the … [Read More...]
WALL CITY, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2: My birth plan is to deliver in a jail cell
A true story of women on their own in an Oklahoma lockup By Laci Berg as told to Mary Fish Story courtesy of Victoria Law My name is Laci. I am a locked-up pregnant lady at Oklahoma’s Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. Previously, I was in Caddo County Jail on a controlled of a dangerous substance charge with a former conviction of a … [Read More...]
Celebrating a community led by peaceful intention
Lyricist Ashanti The 2019 Day of Peace Celebration was a festival of music and healing featuring dynamic outsider performers and San Quentin talent. “This music brings tears to my eyes. It’s touching my soul, lowering my anxiety and depression,” said inmate J.O. Chisom. “It’s saving me from my inner thoughts as we speak.” “I feel … [Read More...]
Skid Row Club returns to the Lower Yard for “OneHour Fun Run”
Judge Craig Mitchell with Coach Frank Ruona (back) An award winning coach, a humanitarian judge, and two former San Quentin residents came together at The Q July 20, 2019 to participate in the 2nd Annual Skid Row Running Club One Hour San Quentin Fun Run. The Skid Row Running Club was founded by Los An- geles Superior Court Judge Craig … [Read More...]
Original play offers intimate look at doing time in prison
Instructors and the performers of Theatre Workers Project’s More Than A Number Behind miles of razor wire and an electric fence, 23 prisoners housed in California State Prison – Los Angeles County (Lancaster) performed an original theater piece titled “More than a Number.” For 10 weeks, the men gathered in the same place, at the same time, in … [Read More...]
Concert showcases Mad Mama, the Bona Fide Few, and the Bangers
Mad Mama Lopez (right) with the Mad Mama The sounds of guitar riffs being shredded and vintage rock ’n’ roll rang throughout San Quentin’s Lower Yard for the prison’s annual Rock Concert. The July 27 event showcased Mad Mama and the Bona Fide Few and punk rock band the Bangers. Mad Mama’s band hails from San Francisco and the Bangers made … [Read More...]
Oakland Police Chief delivers apology at SQ Barbershop Forum
Oakland Police Department’s Police Chief Jane Kirkpatrick with KTVU Fox 2’s Paul Chambers Oakland Police Chief Jane Kirkpatrick delivered an encouraging message of respect, hope and an apology for law enforcement misdeeds to more than 200 San Quentin prisoners looking forward to freedom. “We have a future and hope together,” … [Read More...]
Demonstrating great achievement under difficult circumstances
By David Ditto and Michael Johnson, Staff Writers. Graduating class of Robert E. Burton and Coastline, Feather River and Lassen Community College Tasseled caps and gowns flowed as diplomas, degrees and certificates were conferred in San Quentin’s visiting room during Robert E. Burton Adult School’s 2019 Commencement. College, high school, … [Read More...]
Power Source group commemorates first-ever YOP graduation
San Quentin youth offenders came together on their own—in a grassroots ceremony on June 23, to commemorate the first-ever graduating cycle of the Power Source curriculum. Institutional glitches delayed the officially scheduled graduation in May. But, the incarcerated members of BE-IT (Benefitting Each Individual Together) wanted to make sure … [Read More...]
Town Hall addresses the arrival of deaf prisoners
The hearing-impaired soon to arrive at San Quentin San Quentin State Prison will begin housing deaf prisoners, state officials report. “They just want to be a part of the education and self-help pro- grams you enjoy here,” said Kelly Mitchell, assistant deputy director for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). … [Read More...]
Robert E. Burton receives first ever Distinguished School award
Robert E. Burton Principal Michael Wheeless, receiving the Distinguished School award from OCE Superintendent Shannon Swain with Warden Ron Davis (Center) The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Office of Correctional Education (OCE) presented its first ever Distinguished School award to the Robert E. Burton Adult … [Read More...]
Ken Burns brings Country Music to SQ
Ken Burns, Julie Dunfey and Dayton Duncan hosting a Q&A for their PBS documentary Country Music Ken Burns came to the San Quentin chapel and delivered an exclusive prison screening of his latest American gospel, Country Music. The July 24 visit brought prisoners up close and personal with the legendary filmmaker and two of his Florentine … [Read More...]
An emerging class of peacemakers from San Quentin
Restorative justice program GRIP continues its legacy of healing with its newest grads After examining their lives, past traumas, their crimes and taking account- ability of it all, nearly 150 incarcerated men underwent a “rite of passage” in San Quentin’s visiting room that ended with the men pledging to live as peacemakers. Guiding Rage … [Read More...]
Getting a rare second chance in prison: How one youthful offender reclaimed his life with the help of others
Ryan Dietz and “Prison Daddy” Kenny Vernon Ryan Dietz arrived at San Quentin in 2016 ready to succumb to all the usual pitfalls that await youth of- fenders—substance abuse, cellphone activity and peer- pressured violence. Instead, the 19-year-old found a supportive community of mentors and positive role models that guided him onto a better … [Read More...]
A walk on the yard sends youth to camp
Visitors and inmates making the circle of peace at the Lower Yard “We march in solidarity, we all are behind bars,” were the lyrics of a rap song that blared through a massive speaker on San Quentin’s Lower Yard. The song captured the voices and themes of SQ Project Avary’s 3rd Annual “March for the Next Generation.” The June 22 event had … [Read More...]
California’s out-state prisoners brought back
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that it has ended the practice of housing prisoners in out-of-state facilities. But San Quentin inmates who have served time in private lockups say those prisons are much better than California institutions, even though they dislike the separation from their families. “I … [Read More...]
Hamilton cast and crew visits San Quentin
Members of Hamilton cast and crew with SQNews advsiors Monica Campbell and Jan Perry The world proved wide enough for San Quentin prisoners and the San Francisco production of Hamilton to come together as one community. Donald Webber, Jr., Darilyn Castillo, Marja Harmon, and Sabrina Sloan At the invitation of SQNews adviser Jan Perry, … [Read More...]
Quentin Cooks culinary program serves up big audience
Graduate Derry Brown receiving certificate from Chef Huw Thorton A documentary filmmaker spent a year in San Quentin filming a cooking program as it progressed. He found that learning high-end culinary arts changed the way incarcerated people see the world. “The guys really talk about the pride of cooking for the other guys,” said filmmaker … [Read More...]
Prison to Employment Connection prepares men for the workforce
PEC staff and inmate volunteers Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) at San Quentin graduated 44 men from its ninth session in June. The week before graduation, more than 40 business, career and education professionals attended Employer Day at the prison to do one-on-one interviews with the men. PEC’s 15-week program prepares men to be “job … [Read More...]
Get On The Bus unites families at SQ
Families eating, playing games, and enjoying GOTB 2019 The laughter, tears and warm embraces of family reunions filled the San Quentin visiting rooms during the day-long Get On The Bus (GOTB) event on Friday, May 31. Daughters, sons and grandchildren reconnected with their incarcerated fathers and grandfathers after years—even decades—of … [Read More...]
Jesse Vasquez, SQN former editor-in-chief paroled
JESSE VASQUEZ Jesse Vasquez, 36, former editor-in-chief of San Quentin News, paroled in late May from San Quentin State Prison after spending all of his adult years in prison and a little more than half his life. Vasquez paroled with a different state of mind from the one his 17-year-old younger self arrived with in 2001. “When I was a … [Read More...]
Upcoming Events for San Quentin in July
San Quentin Day of Peace July 13th Lower Yard Ken Burns documentary July 24th Protestant Chapel 11:00-1:00pm San Quentin Barbershop Dialogue July 26th Protestant Chapel 10:00-3:00pm San Quentin Education Graduation July 26th San Quentin Yard Show July 27th Lower Yard … [Read More...]
The Beat Within celebrates 21 years of giving youth a voice
Dave Inocencio (second from left), The Beat Within and KID CAT members For the past five years, Dave Inocencio has been coming to San Quentin to lead a writing workshop for The Beat Within publication that he started 21 years ago in San Francisco. He got involved with San Quentin through Karen Drucker, who, at the time, worked with the KID CAT … [Read More...]
San Quentin A’s Season Opener
Lt. Sam Robinson receiving his Ahtletics’ jersey With 2 ceremonial pre- game pitches, one by an octogenarian, and a national anthem complete with the presentation of the Stars and Bars, the San Quentin Athletics opened their season with a 16-3 thrashing of the San Francisco Mission on 4/20/2019. “It feels good to get back to the game that we … [Read More...]
Public Defender Brendon Woods visits SQ
Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods Brendon Woods, Alameda County’s Chief Public Defender, knows that prisoners take a dim view of lawyers from the PD’s office. And he wants to change that. Woods, 48, and a native New Yorker, is the only Black chief public defender among the 58 California counties. He visited San Quentin and met with … [Read More...]
Navigating the unexpected: Improv offers critical life skills
Teachers and students of Prison University Project's Improv Class Roars of laughter filled the classroom as the Prison University Project (PUP) Improv Troupe put on the last of two performances for the spring semester. The April 19 show was a result of everything that the students learned in the Improv for Life class. “Everything that you … [Read More...]
Criminal canines given reprieve through rehabilitation at SQ
Dogs with their inmate trainers at SQ firehouse In the County of Marin, some animals that are stigmatized because they are pit bulls are given a second chance. Mack is one of those dogs. He was afforded the opportunity to be trained and prepared for adoption through the Pen Pals program—a 14-year alliance between San Quentin State Prison and … [Read More...]
Program helps at risk youth through music
John Wallace at his studio John Wallace went to jail and prison19 times, starting at age 18. Then he was sent to San Quentin, where he served two terms and started writing rap lyrics on his last trip there in the prison’s West Block. An initial opening to a career in music happened by chance when Wallace and other inmates created what he … [Read More...]
Cultural differences affect the way peoples’ sexual orientations are treated
ACT members in a class session Acting with Compassion and Truth (ACT) is a first of its kind of prison program that explores how cultural differences affect the way people with diverse sexual orientations are treated. The group consists of LGBTQ people as well as heterosexual/cisgender people. California prison officials and a journalist came … [Read More...]
Editorial: Marcus Henderson
Marcus Henderson I am proud to have worked and walked the journey of prison journalism with a remarkable group of men for the past five years. These dedicated men have produced the award winning San Quentin News while also balancing college and rehabilitative programs. That hard work has paid off for some of those in the newsroom: Six of our … [Read More...]
Wall City Volume 2: If you want it all – look here!
Everyone who donates $40 or more to San Quentin News this year will get a free gift – a full color 32-page Wall City magazine Volume 2– written and created by inmates. This is the second volume of Wall City – the San Quentin News publication focused on keeping you informed on criminal justice and rehabilitation issues. The all-new spring … [Read More...]
Programas de rehabilitación dan esperanzas a reos
Mario Rodriguez La estrategia del departamento de correcciones de California para comenzar un programa de rehabilitación más efectivo ha dado como resultado las Undesignated Yards. Estas unidades son para aquellos reos que han decidido abandonar las pandillas o simplemente buscan una oportunidad de salir de prisión. El programa comenzó en el … [Read More...]
San Quentin’s 52nd annual Native American Pow Wow
Healing sister, Mike “Lil Voice” Powell & Gregory “White Eagle” Coates dancing to bless the ceremony Native American spiritual leaders from across California and the na- tion brought the spirit of family and the traditional healing dances to San Quentin’s 52nd annual Pow Wow. Colorful dancers from Oklahoma and elders from Oregon mixed with … [Read More...]
Google attends San Quentin mixer
Harry Hemphill speaking about graduating from the coding program The morning of April 11 started with fun and games with participants from Google.org and incarcerated coding students as a way to socialize. The first game, the circle name game, an icebreaker consisted of everyone yelling out his or her name and that of the person next to them … [Read More...]
Cori Thomas brings attention to criminal justice system with play
Cori Thomas Thomas (center) with the cast for the first rehearsal When the Rattlestick Theater commissioned playwright and San Quentin volunteer Cori Thomas to write a play in 2016, she penned a draft featuring a 62-year-old man who has been incarcerated since he was 16 called Lockdown. At the time, she had never visited a prison or envisioned … [Read More...]
Students have great impact on UC Davis after prison
University students, who are formerly incarcerated, are changing life and perceptions on their campus by taking over a college classroom to challenge traditional teach- ing methods and holding informative seminars to bring awareness to who they are as students. Beyond the Stats (BTS), an organization of formerly incarcerated and system impacted … [Read More...]
Dr. Gabor Maté lectures at SQ’s Enneagram event
Susan Olesek, Jason Griffin, Ronell “Rauch” Draper, Dustin M. Baldwin and Dr. Gabor Maté Once a week, Susan Olesek comes inside San Quentin to help incarcerated men discover the roots of their personalities and how it plays into the way they see everyday life. The program she oversees helps men realize how life experiences mold personalities … [Read More...]
Kid CAT’s hygiene drive raises money for homeless youth
Kid CAT members with hygiene products donated from the residents of San Quentin for Huckleberry Youth Multi-Service Center A group of San Quentin prisoners collected money and hygiene items for Bay Area homeless youths. “Even in prison, guys got that spirit of giving,” said Gregory “Eagle” Coates, a member of the youth offender … [Read More...]
The cost of reputation in prison: being transgender in prison
The purpose of earning a reputation in prison is for one reason—survival. However, the cost of survival may take extreme forms. “When I first came to prison in the 80s, being a transgender meant being someone’s property. We would be used to carry weapons, for sex, to wash and clean dirty workout clothes, but, in that we were also well … [Read More...]
Prisoners contributed their input on criminal justice reform
Participants sitting in a small circle share their personal experiences in the San Quentin Protestant Chapel Criminal justice reform took center stage at a San Quentin State Prison forum that brought together inmates, social justice advocates, formerly incarcerated citizens and public officials. “Reform has to change, as we all together are … [Read More...]
Ida B. Wells: early Black journalist and activist
Ida B. Wells Before Black Lives Matter, and before former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick took a knee, there was Ida B. Wells. She was a pioneering journalist with a social conscience who laid the foundations of resistance to racial injustice and violence against Black people. “Out of their own mouths, murderers shall be condemned,” wrote … [Read More...]
Eight emerging artists turn chapel into raucous concert hall
Students in the Kurt Huget guitar class On an otherwise quiet Sunday evening, nine guitars rang out in harmony and transformed San Quentin’s Catholic Chapel into a raucous concert hall. “This was a great opportunity for us to communicate musically with no boundaries and just let our hair down,” said volunteer instructor Kurt Huget. He showcased … [Read More...]
The ladies of Beauty Behind Bars return to San Quentin
The ladies from Beauty Behind Bars speaking to a prisoner on the Lower Yard An all-women’s organization, aimed at inspiring incarcerated people to overcome their despair and anger, visited San Quentin on Nov. 3 for the second time in two years. “There is beauty in any and all situations,” said founder Tiffany Love-Harden inside the … [Read More...]
Kid CAT Chairman Si Dang’s 2019 youth address
For many of us who are incarcerated, the ultimate dream is freedom. The question of whether we will achieve that dream, however, often lies in our pursuit of it. Kid CAT members My name is Si Dang, and I am the new chairman of Kid CAT. Over the last 22 years, I have pursued my freedom in a variety of ways, many of them dysfunctional and … [Read More...]
SQ Shakespeare troupe performs skits about trauma and healing
The cast of the SQ’s Shakespeare Parallel Play Nine original skits put modern personal trauma and healing on full display this past October. The audience discovers how Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors had inspired a troupe of actors to present original works of how trauma is passed down across generations until a choice is made to heal. The … [Read More...]
Incarcerated student challenges educators at national conference
An incarcerated Black college student challenged the nation’s prison educators to rethink how they consistently force predominant White cultural perspectives onto the non-Whites who fill their classrooms. James King’s voice reached across the country to Indianapolis by way of video, where he introduced an academic paper he co-authored with … [Read More...]
CALPIA GM Chuck Pattillo retires
The longest serving general manager in the history of the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), Charles L. “Chuck” Pattillo is stepping down from that post, but will still assist incarcerated people prepare for good jobs, once released. Pattillo’s effort continue to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in incarceration … [Read More...]
Queens of the Stone Age, Deadsy & Queeny King rock out at SQ
San Quentin is still on many great musicians’ “must” list of places to perform. Queens of the Stone Age, Queeny King and Deadsy are now among the legends such as Johnny Cash, Carlos Santana and Metallica that have rocked the prison. The Nov. 16 rock concert was the final leg of the “Villains World Tour 2018” for the Queens of the Stone Age. … [Read More...]
Kid CAT banquet honors the forgotten voices of youth
Kid CAT celebrated the “forgotten voices” of youth at its 2018 annual banquet. “Tonight’s Banquet was about bringing awareness to the youths, who think that their voices are not being heard and are afraid to express how they feel to their parents or caretakers,” said Si Dang, Kid CAT chairman. Kid CAT is a group of men who committed their … [Read More...]
21st century solutions to 20th century problems
They came from all over the prison and the nation. Scholars dressed in standard blue prison uniforms walked down a staircase that leads from the cellblocks, while a group of civilians hiked down a ramp that leads from a courtyard just inside the entrance to the prison to meet on the San Quentin Lower Yard for the Prison University Project’s first … [Read More...]
Senator and author share challenge of passing SB 1437
It’s hard to get laws changed, even harder to make any revisions applicable to people already serving their time, nevertheless Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) retroactively transformed California’s felony-murder law with the help of the Re:store Justice organization and others. “Retroactivity was the hardest part, yet it was essential because … [Read More...]
Florida hosts prison reform conference – FICPFM
More than 50 social justice organizations led by formerly incarcerated people met in Orlando, Fla., last month. The occasion was the second national gathering of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement ( FICPFM ). The first national gathering took place in Oakland in 2016. By Andrew Beale Contributing Writer The … [Read More...]
50 men graduate from California Re-entry Institute
The idea behind the California Re-entry Institute (CRI) is to begin the re-integration process in prison and continue support services once released. The 18-24-month-to-the- gate program recently graduated more than 50 men in San Quentin State Prison’s Garden Chapel on Sept. 7 from its two programs of Crime Impact Awareness and Empowered … [Read More...]
CCWP advocates mount a fight to end LWOP
Advocates are mounting a fight to end the other death penalty—life without the possibility of parole. These “hidden death sentences” mean prisoners must live the rest of their lives in “prisons with extraordinarily high suicide rates, with substandard medical, dental, and mental health care and with scant rehabilitative programs. Prisons rife with … [Read More...]
Law enforcement and prisoners come together in Barbershop Dialogue
Law enforcement personnel and incarcerated men met in San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel on Sept. 21 for a first-of-its-kind forum. The idea came from the 2009 New Year’s Eve killing of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer. Jack Bryson’s two sons were with Grant. “That incident made me become a community organizer,” Bryson said in an interview with … [Read More...]
Project Avary march
When a parent winds up behind bars, the children suffer the stigma of that incarceration. That was the message from Project Avary attending San Quentin’s 2nd Annual “March for the Next Generation.” The Sept. 8 march brought together prisoners and young adults, who have been affected by having an incarcerated parent. Project Avary (Alternative … [Read More...]
S.Q. Warriors take trophy back
The San Quentin Warriors won again! For the second straight year, the prison’s premiere basketball team beat the Golden State Warriors squad of staffers 93-85 in a community atmosphere that featured NBA-playoff intensity. The victory had particular significance for San Quentin power forward Harry “ATL” Smith, who paroled a few days after the … [Read More...]
SQ's 2018 graduating class thanked D. Searle
Families gathered to celebrate their loved ones’ accomplishments at the Robert E. Burton Adult School annual graduation ceremony, held on July 20 in San Quentin’s main visiting room. “This is the first time I’ve been able to complete any type of vocational program,” said Francisco Ortiz, a graduate from the Vocational Plumbing class. “I’m proud … [Read More...]
Former prisoner honored for his achievements
John Valverde, 50, went from the prison cell to the executive suite, having an occupation listed as “convict,” to an occupation of “CEO.” Now chief executive officer of YouthBuild USA Inc., Val- verde was named winner of the 2018 Brian S. Fischer Achievement Award. “It was amazing to be in a room with so many people who guided me and mentored me … [Read More...]
Common visits SQ music program
David Jassy playing music for Common and guests Hip-hop artist Rashid “Common” Lynn heard about the positive music being produced from prison by David Jassy, a Grammy-nominated Swedish rapper and producer, and came into San Quentin to meet about a collaborative project. “He has a genuine interest in prison reform,” Jassy said. “They heard about the … [Read More...]
Grammy Winner LeCrae Moore’s inspirational message
Two-time Grammy-winning rapper LeCrae Moore used a hip-hop performance at San Quentin State Prison on July 24 to deliver inspirational messages and show his Christian faith in action. “On a personal level, I’m here because I have family behind prison walls: my father, my uncle,” LeCrae said.“I’m attracted to being around people I feel like society … [Read More...]
Susan Burton advocating for justice
Susan Burton was exactly where she wanted to be that day in May— back in prison. It had been twenty years since her last incarceration but this time, she wasn’t in the California Institute for Women (CIW) to serve time. She was there to talk. “Your life matters,” she told her audience of 100 inmates before signing copies of her book for the women. … [Read More...]
29 years in prison is enough for Mike Webb
After six parole hearings and 29 years in prison, Mike Webb, a beloved Kid CAT member, was found suitable for parole. “Mike Webb is one of the most compassionate and committed persons that I know,” said Charlie Spence, Kid CAT Chairman. “We will all miss him very much, because he has been such a positive impact in our group and in this … [Read More...]
Eddie Hart shares his gold medal experiences
Eddie Hart, a 1972 Olympic gold medalist, likes to go where he feels the love. He returned to San Quentin State Prison July 20 for the 11th annual Eddie Hart-Ralph Ligons Track Meet to share his time, story and running tips. “When I first came here, I was a bit concerned for my safety,” the 69-year-old Hart said. “Now I look forward to seeing the … [Read More...]
21st Century programs graduate apprentices
More than a dozen inmates sat in the front row of a prison chapel on June 15 to graduate from one of three well-regarded 21st century training programs. Looking past the graduates to the men who had recently arrived in San Quentin, Warden Ron Davis said, “those of you not familiar with this prison, the guys in blue, this is a celebration of great … [Read More...]
High Desert Prison warden sets the record straight
By some accounts, High Desert State Prison is one of California’s most notorious penitentiaries. Warden Marion E. Spearman wants to clear up that impression. He argues that the prison, its staff and inmates have undergone change. It’s no longer a prison that just houses young men with youth management problems. “There’s a new vision and mission for … [Read More...]
The show goes on for SQ Shakespeareans
Drama therapy was in full display on May 18 as a nine-day quarantine ended at San Quentin for inmate performers in the Shakespeare play King Lear — a week later, the prison was on normal program for Comedy of Errors. “First, I was in shock,” said Jason Robinson about West Block getting off the quarantine. “But, Steve Emrick (Community Partnership … [Read More...]
PUP grads take center stage
“Pomp and Circumstance” played and everyone stood to applaud the Prison University Project’s (PUP) class of 2018 as they took center stage in San Quentin State Prison’s visiting room in June. Nine men graduated and received their Associative Arts degree from Patten University. One of the graduates, Gerald Morgan, welcomed his 98-year-old aunt, … [Read More...]
Voting rights for people with criminal convictions
Who in California currently has the right to vote? Eligible voters are citizens of the United States, 18 years of age or older as of Election Day. But, what if you’ve been arrested or have a conviction? “Many Californians mistakenly believe a criminal conviction keeps them from voting. Politicians bet on that fact to win elections,” according to … [Read More...]
21 graduates ready to reenter the workforce
Twenty-two inmates graduated from the Prison to Employment Connection’s (PEC) seventh session at San Quentin State Prison in May. A week before graduation, the men did face-to-face interviews with employers looking to hire qualified formerly incarcerated citizens. More than 40 men enrolled in the program in February to learn about interview skills, … [Read More...]
New bill keeps youth offenders out of adult prisons
Human Rights Watch (HRW) continues to back legislation that gives youthful offenders a second chance at life after committing serious crimes. Most recently, law changes in California have allowed offenders who were under age 25 when they committed the crime to seek a sentence review after serving between 15 and 25 years— depending on the category … [Read More...]
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) aids programs
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) will provide grant funding to the Prison University Project (PUP) and Ear Hustle, an award-winning podcast. Both organizations are based at San Quentin State Prison. PUP offers more than 350 inmates the opportunity to earn their Associate of Arts degree inside prison. Ear Hustle allows inmates to share … [Read More...]
Transforming former inmates with “A Man Like Me”
From the prison to the streets, the transformation of a man. That’s the subject of “A Man Like Me” – a play created by four former prisoners taking advantage of “The Dads Back!” Academy and TheatreWorkers Project. The academy is a reentry organization, run by Friends Outside Los Angeles County (FOLA), using theater to reintegrate parolees and … [Read More...]
Judy Appel talks justice
Berkeley Unified School District board member Judy Appel sat down with San Quentin News to brainstorm on solutions to criminal justice issues that she can take to Sacramento, if she wins an assembly seat this fall. “I’m very concerned about our criminal justice system and the way we lock people up for really long times,” Appel said. “We put people … [Read More...]
A look inside the bustling San Quentin prison library
Every day, the San Quentin State prison library is bustling with activity. Inmates might be ordering books from the clerks at the counter. Other inmates might be sitting at tables, reading books and talking among themselves. The windows in the librarians’ offices provide a glimpse of San Francisco Bay as well as the mountains. In the legal … [Read More...]
Grammy award winning Zuill Bailey performs in SQ
A Grammy Award-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey, performed an hour-long concert at San Quentin State Prison’s Protestant Chapel. Bailey is considered one of the premier cellists in the world, and yet he decided to play before an audience of prisoners, staff and volunteers in a place where few artists have ever set foot. After achieving so much … [Read More...]
OptionB.Org Support Group Overcoming Incarceration
OptionB.org believes in the power of community to help people heal. We want to break the silence and isolation that often surrounds adversity. To do that, we’re growing a community that shows people they are not in it alone. To join the Overcoming the effects of incarceration group for support, your loved ones can visit optionb.org/groups. Key … [Read More...]
Life of crime overturned by positive choices
A variety of rehabilitative programs, including dance, helped Anouthinh Pangthong turn his life around despite a rocky youth and 21 years in prison since the age of 15. “Life in prison can become tedious, doing the same thing over and over. Sparks of violence would break the monotony. When an opportunity came to do something different through … [Read More...]
UC Davis combats prison stigmas with Beyond the Stats
To combat the stigmas facing formerly incarcerated people at the University of California Davis, two students established the Beyond the Stats program to help the newly returning citizens adjust to college life. The founders of the program, Tina Curiel-Allen and Daniel Mendoza, were also formerly incarcerated. The two established the support group … [Read More...]
SQ parolee serves up more than just coffee in Antioch
Coffee entrepreneur John Krause can relate to the slim employment prospects most ex-cons face upon parole. As a former San Quentin inmate himself, Krause spent over a decade in and out of prison before opening Big House Beans (BHB). Based in Antioch, BHB’s production facility now roasts thousands of pounds of premium gourmet coffee beans per … [Read More...]
Queeny King performs at SQ
At age 8, singer-song writer Queeny King sang in a Soviet Union prison. In March, she performed at San Quentin State Prison. Dressed in black bell-bottom pants with buttons along the side and wearing a black blazer with a shiny brown blouse, King put on a look that, on its face, could have been interpreted as belonging to rock, goth, punk or the … [Read More...]
Folsom’s Insight Garden Project
California women prisoners are learning to go “green” as they gain skills in garden design and environmental education through the award-winning Insight Garden Program (IGP). Folsom Women’s Facility (FWF) and Central California Women’s Facility (also known as Chowchilla) have been added to the IGP’s long list of prisons that are finding … [Read More...]
Death Row inmate freed after serving more than 25 years
A man who spent 27 years on Death Row walked out the prison gates on April 17, 2018. “He appeared amazed to be on the other side of the wall,” Public Information Officer Lt. Sam Robinson said. About eight people, including family members and his attorney, awaited Vicente Benavides as he exited the prison as a free man. Decades earlier, a Kern … [Read More...]
Youth offenders graduate Pre-Apprentice Program
STOCKTON -- Ten youth offenders graduated with a marketable job skill after completing the first Pre-Apprentice Construction Labor Program at the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility. After completing six months of preparation, the young men were certified for construction work and possible union membership, according to the Stockton … [Read More...]
Santa Clara DA discusses solutions to crime
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen did something few prosecutors would have the guts to do. He went inside San Quentin and walked across its prison yard, in order to sit down with several inmates to talk about ways to keep the streets free of crime. Rosen’s Feb. 16 visit was not his first. In 2014, he and several members of his staff … [Read More...]
Running from the prison cell to public office
‘Should we bear the burden of our past when our present has been involved in fixing the future?’ Lewis Conway Jr., a formerly incarcerated man, is challenging disenfranchisement by running for public office in Austin, Texas. “We want people with arrests and convictions to engage in the democratic process,” Bill Cobb, deputy director of the American … [Read More...]
NY’s Hudson Link graduates women
Incarcerated women made history when they graduated for the first time from a prison college program in New York state. Five women prisoners and one formerly incarcerated woman at the Taconic Correctional Facility received their associate degrees bestowed by Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. Intimate partner violence accounts for 15 … [Read More...]
Billing inmates $600 by medical provider-CCHCS
Men who received treatment from hospitals outside the prison were surprised to receive medical bills along with a notice that they had to pay for those services. A 2006 federal court order put California prisoners’ medical care in the hands of the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS). CCHCS’s budget includes more than $350 million … [Read More...]
Singer/songwriter Neda Boin brings inspiration to SQ
There is a way to change anger and fear to love, singer-songwriter Neda Boin told an audience of San Quentin prisoners and outside guests. For her, it came after completing A Course in Miracles. Boin came from the Netherlands to release songs from her new album, The Light Has Come, at San Quentin State Prison. About 100 guests attended the February … [Read More...]
New California youth offender bills
California legislators are introducing two new bills that will affect accomplices of felony murder and youth offenders under SB 260, 261, and AB 1308. The first bill, SB 1437, introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner, will set forth new guidelines for sentencing (certain) accomplices of murder. “This bill would prohibit malice from being imputed to a … [Read More...]
Robot Chatbot Lawyer for Refugees
Robolawyer-chatbot tool to complete anti-deportation and immigration paperwork. The use of robolawyer-chatbots promises to be a significant advance in social justice, its supporters say. As with Airbnb and Uber, new artificial intelligence technologies have transformed many industries in the past few years. Now they are seeking to transform legal … [Read More...]
Deportation Crimes Explained
In Trump’s first six months of 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more than 65,000 immigrants, up 37.6 percent from the same period last year, reports The Washington Post. Almost three out of four of those arrested have criminal records. Immigration advocates question whether ICE is truly prioritizing the most serious … [Read More...]
ROOTS graduates learn inter-generational trauma
The audience cried and laughed with recent graduates of the Restoring Our Original True Selves (ROOTS) program as they told stories of healing generations of intergenerational trauma and jokes. “For a lot of groups coming from refugee and war-torn situations that have strong disconnections with the generations before them, intergeneration trauma is … [Read More...]
Women complete culinary program
Eleven inmates graduated from the first Culinary Arts Management program at Folsom Women’s Facility. Vincent Moralez, supervisor of the program, and Jason Doolittle, adjunct professor and executive chef, started the program in 2017 and taught their students everything from serving to cooking, as well as restaurant management, reported The Folsom … [Read More...]
United States leads world in locking up women report
Individual states of the U.S., along with the federal government, lead the world in putting women behind bars, according to a 2017 report by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). Women in the U.S. represent only 5 percent of the world’s female population, but account for nearly 30 percent of the world’s imprisoned women, cites the report, titled The … [Read More...]
Code.7370 host Lance Armstrong
In a small classroom with popular catch phrases like Think Different and Believe in the Process on its walls, about two dozen San Quentin prisoners waited for a surprise guest—the world-renowned, once top cyclist, Lance Armstrong. “I’ve never been in jail. But I know what it’s like to run afoul of the system,” Armstrong said, on Jan. 11, to inmates … [Read More...]
Veterans’ 29th annual Toys-for-Tots giveaway
The holiday spirit enriched the Main Visiting Room for five days in December. For two consecutive weekends, the fully decorated seven-foot Christmas tree was the busiest place at San Quentin. Inmates and their families took pictures in front of it. For the 29th consecutive year, Marines from the San Bruno Recruitment Station donated toys for … [Read More...]
San Quentin News’ Senior Editor honored
For giving a voice to the voiceless, Juan Haines, the San Quentin News senior editor, was honored with The Silver Heart Award by the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “I was never after the gotcha story or the investigative piece trying to find corruption,” Haines said. “I just wanted to tell regular people’s … [Read More...]
Restoring a community through healing dialogue
More than two dozen survivors of crime crossed the heavily riveted steel doors at San Quentin to face prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder. One of the key conclusions was that a healing dialogue is needed to improve communication between survivors and perpetrators. The event was held Oct. 27-28 in the Protestant Chapel. … [Read More...]
Reconstructing lives through vocational training
Greg Venegas is helping San Quentin prisoners learn construction skills qualifying them to find excellent jobs when released. Venegas teaches in a program called Career Technical Education Construction Labor Program (CTE) that provides basic training with scissor lift, skip loader, Caterpillar, backhoe tractor, and digging hand ditches. He has … [Read More...]
Lt. Graham retires after four decades of service
The big day arrives. The number one lieutenant is retiring from San Quentin State Prison. It’s Friday, Nov. 17, and Lt. Donald Graham walks into the Captain’s Porch at 7:03 a.m. as he has done for the past 10 years. “According to a RAND analysis, every $1 invested in such [inmate] education generates at least $4 in economic return,” reports Fast … [Read More...]
Living the good life after prison
What does it take for a man coming out of prison to be successful in society? It took moral support from community members for formerly incarcerated Nathaniel A. Johnson, support such as that from Pastor Steve “Big Red” Sanderson. “The state typically spends $71,000 a year to house an inmate. It costs about $5,000 total to help put one … [Read More...]
Former San Quentin prisoner advocates for change
While he was incarcerated, you would see Reginald “Reggie” Hola playing almost every sport, taking first in the Ironman contest or participating in groups aimed at self-betterment and helping the youth on the yard. After paroling and diving into social justice work, people driving around Oak Park, Sacramento, saw Hola’s face on a billboard … [Read More...]
Education organizations trade ideas at national conference
Exchanging ideas on how to create educational opportunities for incarcerated people and reentry services was the topic of a national conference held in Texas last November. “It was a chance for our different organizations to support each other and think together on how to expand this field of prison education,” said Jody Lewen, executive director … [Read More...]
An evening of educational college entertainment
While playing keyboard AJ Gonzales sang “Roses Instead,” as an audience of prisoners and community members made their way inside San Quentin’s Catholic Chapel on Dec. 29 for an open mic event. “San Quentin is the biggest program hub I’ve seen, since I’ve been in prison,” said Gonzales, 38, who has been in and out of prison and is scheduled to get … [Read More...]
FBI report reflects historical similarities
The FBI in 1956 created its secret Counterintelligence Program—COINTELPRO—to take action against Black organizations viewed as subversive. Sixty-one years later, on Aug. 3, 2017, the FBI published an intelligence assessment titled Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers. The two FBI approaches had striking … [Read More...]
Racial undertones of America’s penal system
After the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, one of the first steps toward the mass incarceration of African-Americans was the creation of Black Codes and Vagrancy Laws. “Virtually from the moment the Civil War ended, the search began for the legal subordinating of a volatile Black population that regarded economic independence … [Read More...]
San Francisco Opera debuts at San Quentin
Add the San Francisco Opera (SFO) to the list of historic performances and celebrities that have passed through the infamous Bastille by the Bay – San Quentin State Prison. “Your facility has a rich musical history,” said Community Programs Manager Alyssa Stone, who introduced the SFO singers. She noted performances at San Quentin by B.B. King, … [Read More...]
100th edition celebration recognizes San Quentin News
When the San Quentin News was revived nearly ten years ago, a staff of five put together a four-page issue and distributed it to 5,000 inmates inside the prison. Today, the newspaper has a circulation of 30,000, distributed at 36 prisons across the state as well as to individual inmates in 43 states. In addition to news stories and features, the … [Read More...]
CDCR’s Information Officer critiques SQ News
One of San Quentin News’ biggest supporters is also its biggest critic. Krissi Khokhobashvili, information officer for California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR), who worked for eight years as a journalist, reviews all of the newspaper’s stories, correcting grammar and fact-checking. If there are any mistakes, she’s the first … [Read More...]
Jill Brown reflects on her time as warden
Former San Quentin Warden Jill Brown’s career allowed her to reinvent herself many times. In the process, she helped to improve the lives of inmates through rehabilitation. Brown started her career working at a state hospital. She later found her way to what was then the California Department of Corrections in San Francisco as a regional parole … [Read More...]
Addressing social justice inequalities
A roundtable centering on social justice inequalities in America took place Dec. 12 between two unlikely groups at the most unlikely place. Earl Smith, San Francisco 49ers pastor, led a team of Bay Area sports personalities into San Quentin State Prison for a discussion with an audience of about 100 people, including inmates, community volunteers … [Read More...]
Prison to Employment Connection job readiness event
The Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) program hosted its sixth job readiness event at San Quentin State Prison, allowing dozens of inmates, employers, unions, apprenticeship programs and career path organizations to meet face-to-face. Warden Ron Davis welcomed the employers and organizations, thanking them for their time. “At the end of the … [Read More...]
350 men honor Veteran’s Day at SQ
Every year, the 11th day of the 11th month in the United States commemorates Veterans Day. It was no different in San Quentin for the more than 350 incarcerated men who once served in America’s armed forces. Nearly a dozen community supporters ventured inside the prison to pay their respect with about 50 of the incarcerated veterans who gathered in … [Read More...]
San Quentin’s Christmas caroling revives special memories
Nostalgic feelings dampen many inmates’ lives during the holiday season, but Christmas caroling in San Quentin State Prison revives happy memories of home and lightens everyone’s mood. A few weeks before Christmas, prison volunteers, the Protestant Church choir and other inmates parade from building to building sharing the joy of the … [Read More...]
Fallen inmate firefighters and rescue response
Prisoners around the nation rank high on the emergency first responders list when wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters strike the country, but are a low priority for rescue efforts, according to a 2017 report by Natural Hazards Observer. Critics say inmate firefighters are regarded as expendable. But California officials disagree. … [Read More...]
Ear Hustle wraps up first season with over six million downloads
The hit podcast Ear Hustle, launched from inside a prison, started its first season with the goal of starting a dialogue about incarceration and humanizing people inside. With 6,268,176 downloads, it has achieved more than it ever dreamed. “I thought people would be interested, but I didn’t think it would be so big,” said co-host Professor Nigel … [Read More...]
Quentin Cooks gets standing ovation from 30 wardens
Thirty California prison wardens joined in a rare standing ovation for an extraordinary banquet prepared by inmates of the Quentin Cooks program. “I’ve never felt so proud,” one student said. The third graduating class, supported by graduates of the second class of the Quentin Cooks, earned … [Read More...]
14th annual Health Fair held under smoky skies
Smoke from the North Bay wildfires loomed over San Quentin, but it failed to derail the 14th Annual TRUST Health Fair. Despite the poor air quality, hundreds of inmates and volunteers braved the elements to give and receive medical services. “It was a debate in our executive office, if we should have the fair or not,” said Steve Emrick, San Quentin … [Read More...]
Beauty Behind Bars visits San Quentin Prison
Beauty Behind Bars, a female self-esteem program, entered a men’s prison to share how they overcame trauma. Normally, Beauty Behind Bars seeks to free women from the mental incarceration they locked themselves in after abuse by men. However, on Sept. 28, five women of color visited San Quentin State Prison to help the men free their minds. “This is … [Read More...]
San Quentin celebrates life achievements of Arnulfo Garcia
Traditional Mexican music, accompanied by rhythmic hand clapping, made San Quentin’s Catholic chapel a place of festive eulogy in tribute to Arnulfo Timoteo Garcia. Two large flat-screen televisions showed the once editor-in-chief of San Quentin News relaxing on the prison’s Lower Yard during the 2017 Day of Peace celebration. Those in attendance – … [Read More...]
Veteran benefits helping of the incarcerated
Johnny Gomez, 50, has been down 21 years, but thanks to being a veteran, he can still help his child. Gomez’s first parole suitability hearing will be in May 2024. “My uncle had fought and died as a Marine in Vietnam, so that’s what I wanted to be,” Gomez said. He was 19 when he made the decision to serve, looking for steady work and a better … [Read More...]
San Quentin Warriors victory over Golden State
The Golden State (GS) Warriors are national champions, but after their sixth annual road game behind the walls of San Quentin State Prison. They lost 103-102 despite Bob Myers’ 32 points and 31 rebounds performance. The “home team” celebrated the victory by poses with the 2017 NBA Championship trophy. “They earned the win; they out-played us,” … [Read More...]
Project Avary fundraises for kids of incarcerated parents
Having a parent behind bars was the theme of San Quentin’s inaugural Walk for the Next Generation, which brought to light stories of pain, solidarity, and struggle. The Sept. 10 event welcomed more than 45 guests wearing white and green Project Avary T-shirts with its blossom tree trademark. They mingled on the Lower Yard with more than 200 … [Read More...]
SQN launches new website, SanQuentinNews.com
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 … [Read More...]
Robert E. Burton Adult School graduation celebrates GED and vocational achievements
Richard Johnson, 66, a columnist for the Oakland Post, did something he believed impossible while in prison; he attended a ceremony wearing a cap and gown to pick up a diploma for finishing a computer literacy course. Johnson was one of more than 150 inmates to graduate July 21 and July 28 from one of San Quentin’s educational programs including … [Read More...]
Solano State Prison hosts Special Olympics Torch Run
Custody staff, 165 inmates and media representatives gathered May 24 inside the Level II gymnasium of California State Prison-Solano in anticipation of the arrival of two Special Olympic athletes. Music played on the sound system, and everyone inside lined up from the front door to the back door (half the length of a football field) in two lines … [Read More...]
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 … [Read More...]
San Quentin hosts fourth D.A. forum
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón took the first step toward establishing a functioning information link between his prosecution team members and the people they send to prison. About a year ago, Gascón created a Formerly Incarcerated Advisory Board (FIAB), and on June 30, it met in San Quentin for the first time. The meeting brought … [Read More...]
Forgiveness and healing demonstrated at Restorative Symposium
Linda White, who visits the man who murdered her daughter in Texas, spoke about how much forgiveness has done for her at a Restorative Justice Symposium inside San Quentin State Prison. “I was really uncomfortable with all the violent responses to violence,” White said. “It seemed to me that adding more violence onto violence, you weren’t healing … [Read More...]
California’s death penalty remains deadlocked
The death penalty remains uncertain in California, with legal challenges facing lethal drug use and a voter-approved proposition to speed up executions. California may be close to resuming executions in 2018, though others say there are “too many variables and challenges remaining to make a prediction,” reported Don Thompson of the Associated … [Read More...]
Protesters drawing attention to prison deaths and suicides
Advocates and families of prisoners have held rallies to protest the deaths and suicides of their loved ones in California prisons and jails. The California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) and families recently held a vigil in front of the California Institution for Women (CIW) at Corona to focus attention on the continued deaths and suicides … [Read More...]
Celebration of fathers and family with GOTB
Dozens of children with painted faces posed for pictures to show men doing time in San Quentin what Father’s Day means to them. Thanks to Get on the Bus (GOTB), sons and daughters, mothers and fathers boarded buses on June 2 and traveled from cities as far as Los Angeles to visit their incarcerated relatives. GOTB, in conjunction with the … [Read More...]
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 … [Read More...]
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 … [Read More...]
Quentin Cooks grads serve six-course meal
Sixty-eight confirmed guests attended the April graduating class of the “Quentin Cooks” held in the H-Unit mess hall. The graduating class prepared and served a six-course meal that was a worthy finish to the 12-week Culinary Arts Program available to H-Unit residents with an Earliest Possible Release Date (EPRD) of 6 to 36 months. Overseen by Chef … [Read More...]
Inmates serving the community 24/7
Deaths, stabbings, heart attacks and attempted suicides – they are all in a day’s work for the inmates who make up the San Quentin Fire Department. These first responders work hand-in-hand with correctional and outside paramedical staff to save lives. The four-member crew consists of David Clifford, Pedro Cruz, Rolon Morris Sr. and Leroy … [Read More...]
Former inmate brings higher education to prisoners
After serving 16 years in New York state prisons as a juvenile, Sean Pica has had a fundamental role in bringing college education to prisoners nationwide. For the past 10 years, Pica has been the executive director of New York’s Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. He also serves on the board of the newly formed Alliance for Higher … [Read More...]
Deadly influenza virus goes unreported by sick inmates
When a deadly influenza virus swept through San Quentin last February and March, many sick inmates said they were reluctant to report being ill to medical personnel because they feared facing medical isolation in administrative segregation. One inmate died during this year’s influenza season, said San Quentin Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elena … [Read More...]
‘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 … [Read More...]
San Quentin’s own quiet hero
Nigel Poor, one of three members of a unique prison podcast, Ear Hustle, received an award dedicated to honoring public servants. The Jefferson Award for Public Service is given weekly to one person for his or her behind-the-scenes work in the community. In Poor’s case, her work is behind the walls of San Quentin State Prison. “I was shocked,” Poor … [Read More...]
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 … [Read More...]
#Nevertheless,ShePersisted
A new generation of women activists has arisen. Their calling card is the hash tag #Nevertheless, She Persisted. These women are challenging the male-dominated political and economic system and breaking barriers. The phrase “Nevertheless, she persisted” was lifted from the US Senate’s recent decision to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) … [Read More...]
SQN adviser ongoing commitment spans more than 35 years
Wanted: reporters for an award-winning newspaper. Long hours, lousy pay ($24 a month). Requirements: ability to write coherently and be a prisoner in the California Prison at San Quentin. Back in 1982, that is how an article “Convicts print the inside stuff” depicted San Quentin News in the San Jose Mercury. And that’s when Joan Lisetor was first … [Read More...]
Bidding farewell to SQ’s guiding light
Kathleen Jackson has spent the last nine years inside a prison guiding men, most serving life sentences, to turn their lives around. Nearly 400 of these men, along with volunteers from the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area, packed San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel to tell Jackson they love her and will miss her. “I have been blessed by Kathleen. She … [Read More...]
William J. Drummond receives prestigious journalism award
The University of California, Berkeley awarded Professor William J. Drummond, an adviser to San Quentin News, the prestigious Leon A. Henkin Citation for Distinguished Service in February for his work as a journalist and academic. In a speech, Edward Wasserman, the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism, cited Drummond’s work at the university … [Read More...]
Prisons trying to help fathers re-establish relationships
There are 24 million children in America, and one out of three lives without their biological father in the home, the U.S. Census Bureau calculated. When the father is absent it can lead to the following: behavioral problems, abuse and neglect, infant mortality, substance abuse, dropping out of high school, obesity and increased likelihood of going … [Read More...]
Business owner shares his knowledge and energy at DVI
Three days a week, you will usually find volunteer and business owner Scott Bohlmann devoting his valuable time, knowledge and positive energy to inmates at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) in Tracy, Calif. “Prison is my sanctuary,” said Bohlmann, 54, explaining why he volunteers his time to teach three different classes to inmates at DVI. “I’m … [Read More...]
Prisons testing new drug to combat opioid addictions
Some U.S. prisons are testing a monthly injection that could help addicted prisoners stay off opioids, reported The Associated Press (AP). The drug named Vivitrol is injected in the buttocks and lasts for four weeks, the story said. Each shot costs as much as $1,000, the Nov. 20 AP story noted. Experts do not agree on how well it works, but it … [Read More...]
Victims of sexual abuse speak words of forgiveness
Many incarcerated people believe sexual crimes committed against women and children warrant extreme punishments, but two survivors of childhood sexual abuse visited San Quentin State Prison and spoke of therapy as a better solution. Chelsea Miller, who was molested as a child, and Keith DeBlasi, a sex trafficking victim, attended a Restorative … [Read More...]
Native Americans’ 50 years of struggle
The San Quentin Native American community is celebrating 50 years of campaigning to protect and preserve their culture. Plans are underway to have another of the Native American Spiritual Group’s Pow Wows later this year. The Pow Wow is only one part of a larger set of activities, which includes honoring elders and traveling the “Red Road,” a … [Read More...]
SQ inmates raised over $30,000 for charities in 2016
By the end of 2016, San Quentin prisoners and their respective activities groups raised $32,629 in donations for many charitable nonprofit organizations through food sales. Project Avary, a Bay Area organization that provides numerous programs such as summer camps, teen leadership and family unity programs for children of incarcerated parents, was … [Read More...]
SQ hosts conference on incarcerated veterans
Corrections officials from around the nation, who are working on veterans’ issues, came to San Quentin, where they found new ways to serve ex-military. The visitors also discovered that it is no easy task to get the job done. “San Quentin is different than any other prison in the state,” Warden Ron Davis said at the Feb. 8 meeting in the prison’s … [Read More...]
45 bikes for Christmas, thanks to DVI inmates
Prisoners at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) made sure 45 kids got bikes for Christmas. DVI inmates rebuilt the bikes for the Boys & Girls Club of Tracy, reported the Tracy Press. The bike-refurbishing program has been going for five years now, and has grown steadily each year. About 20 inmates in the prison’s vocational auto body repair … [Read More...]
Folsom prisoners refurbish 200 Christmas bikes for needy children
In inmate in Folsom State Prison’s bicycle program has single-handedly refurbished 200 bicycles that were gifted to local youths for Christmas, the Folsom Telegraph reported. “Each morning Argueta Mauricio...heads off to work where he spends his days restoring and repairing bicycles...within the walls of Folsom Prison where inmates, like himself, … [Read More...]
SQ inmates’ victory lures biggies of podcasting
The CEO of a major podcasting network, along with other executives, took an eventful trip from the East Coast to meet with the incarcerated men who defeated more than 1,500 entries from 53 countries in a storytelling contest. PRX CEO Kerri Hoffman and Radiotopia Executive Producer Julie Shapiro entered San Quentin State Prison for the first time … [Read More...]
Mexican consulate in SF pays visit to SQ rehab program
Mexican nationals and other Spanish-speakers imprisoned in California face particularly high barriers to rehabilitation and getting their lives on the right track. That was the assessment of officials from the Mexican consulate in San Francisco who visited San Quentin Prison recently. According to Xavier Issac Delgadillo, who works in the … [Read More...]
San Quentin News hosts nationwide DA forum
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, joined by more than two dozen prosecutors from around the country, visited San Quentin to discuss criminal justice policy with 30 inmates participating in restorative justice programs. With 343 homicides in 2017, Baltimore “had the highest murder rate in its history, and by far the highest among the … [Read More...]
Radio journalist wins Bay Area award
A state prisoner’s feature story won a prestigious journalism award after beating out over 200 entries from more than 100 professionals representing 29 media organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The broadcast story titled Lady Jay Talks About Being Transgender in Prison won the 2016 San Francisco Peninsula Press Club award for Overall … [Read More...]
SQ inmates experience a spiritual journey to Mecca
The San Quentin Muslim community was treated to a slide show of the trials and benefits of the spiritual journey to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, that millions of pilgrims throughout the world take. The pilgrimage, known as Hajj, is to visit the Holy Mosque (the House of God). The pictures showed acts of worship performed at Mecca such as the seven … [Read More...]
Veterans and Shakespeare converge tell war stories
A group of San Quentin veterans joined some Shakespearean actors to portray the traumas they endured in war. Recently, over 30 guests came into San Quentin as our nation’s former heroes performed excerpts from their lives alongside Shakespearean actors. The veterans enacted their war traumas to show the cost of war on the country’s soul. “What we … [Read More...]
Prosecutors visit SQ News seeking public safety
A team of San Francisco’s leading prosecutors came into San Quentin on Dec. 16, seeking answers to very tough questions about public safety and got eye-opening answers from the kind of people they have convicted and sent to prison. A large part of the solution is curbing criminal behavior in children before they wind up in jail and prison, the … [Read More...]
Writers take guests on emotional journey
Stories by incarcerated writers swept members of the outside community into a world behind prison walls. Sponsored by the William James Association’s Prison Arts Project, the reading was an opportunity for the incarcerated writers of San Quentin to share their work. Many of their stories articulated personal struggles within the criminal justice … [Read More...]
A journey to freedom filled with pain and survival
After serving nearly 30 years behind bars, Duane Holt was a changed man who convinced a parole board that he was no longer a danger to public safety. Holt’s journey to freedom was not easy. He was diagnosed with cancer in January. The possibility of dying in prison was a reality check, he said. He thought about how his family would be affected by … [Read More...]
Inmates job opportunities at Employment Readiness Seminar
A group of San Quentin prisoners got a preview of job opportunities when they are released, thanks to an Employment Readiness Seminar. Thirty-six inmates and 33 outside guests attended the December event, the latest of four job seminars held in the past two years. “We prepare men for jobs,” said Diana Williams to an audience of employers, inmates, … [Read More...]
Court OKs ex-warden’s trial for guard’s sex with inmates
A former California prison warden can face trial in a sex abuse case, a federal appeals court ruled in October, said the Press Enterprise. Guillermo Garcia, former warden of the California Institution for Women (CIW), lost his appeal in a federal appeals court on Oct. 12, Oakland-based Justice First Attorneys at Law said. Garcia had claimed “he … [Read More...]
US prison commissary giants are set to merge
As prisoners across the nation wage protests over what they consider slave labor for low or no pay, two of the country’s biggest prison commissary companies are set to merge. HIG Capital, owner of Trinity Services Group, a commissary and food-service operator, announced that it would be acquiring Keefe Group, one of the largest for-profit … [Read More...]
Protesters’ vigil at CIW for women who took their own lives
Alarmed by high suicides rates and other alleged abuses at the California Institution for Women (CIW), about 80 people gathered in front of the prison to protest and remember loved ones who took their lives while incarcerated there. Protesters came holding signs, some shaped like coffins, and wearing T-shirts proclaiming the memory of those who … [Read More...]
Straight talk from women at SQ’s ‘Sister, I’m Sorry’ event
Dozens of San Quentin prisoners listened intently as seven women described their own experiences surviving horrific crimes including rape, incest, abandonment and domestic violence. During the panel discussion Nov. 12 in the Protestant Garden Chapel, the men received a dose of straight talk and a reality check on the hidden pains of women. Darell … [Read More...]
Volunteers’ caroling brings joy to SQ inmates
About 75 volunteers braved frigid weather to bring an evening of Christmas caroling to thousands of inmates in their cells and dorms at San Quentin State Prison. “I saw a lot of joy,” said volunteer Steve Howell, music director at Tiburon Baptist Church. He led a group of about a dozen into H-Unit, a section of San Quentin with five dorms … [Read More...]
Christmas banquet shows volunteers appreciation
More than 250 prisoners filled the San Quentin Garden Chapel to show appreciation for the tireless work of it volunteers at its 2016 Annual Christmas Banquet. The theme of the event was “I was in prison and you visited me,” quoting Jesus Christ from the Bible, Matthew 25:36. The chapel was decorated with Christmas lights, red and green tables and a … [Read More...]
Discovering what it means to be human
A diverse troupe of men, dressed as usual in prison blue, broke away from the everyday constraints of incarceration through the artistic expression of dance and dialogue. San Quentin’s Artistic Ensemble put on its latest performance in the prison’s Protestant Chapel on Nov. 18 for an audience of about 150 that included the local community as well … [Read More...]
San Joaquin offers free tattoo removal for a better future
“People say it’s like bacon, hot greasy bacon touching your skin” said nurse Chris Bendinelli. He was describing the pain of tattoo removal. Dozens of people stood in line for a free tattoo removal program at El Concilio clinic a few months ago. The program is sponsored by the San Joaquin County Probation Department and funded by community programs … [Read More...]
Christmas comes early with VGSQ’s Toys for Tots
The 2016 San Quentin’s Toys for Tots program came earlier this year. On Dec. 16 chairman Gary Cooper and members of the Veterans Group of San Quentin (VGSQ) decorated the Christmas tree in the main visiting room and received nearly 400 gifts from the United States Marine Corps Recruitment Center in San Bruno. More than half of those gifts were also … [Read More...]
Centinela helps incarcerated veterans with ‘The Fight Club’
The Fight Club, a Biblically-based program designed to help veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychiatric disorders, came to Centinela State Prison in June. The goal of the program is to see how it can impact prisoner reform, Wayne Hughes wrote in an op-ed for the OC Register. The Fight Club’s framework is formatted like a boxing match with 12 … [Read More...]
Prisoners save correctional officer’s life
A man is choking on a piece of meat in his throat. Three onlookers see him in distress, and they come to his rescue. What makes this scenario unusual is that the stricken man was a San Quentin correctional officer, and the rescuers were three prisoners, each serving life terms for murder. Thanks to their quick reaction and the Heimlich maneuver, a … [Read More...]
Inmate vets pitch in again to help Marines’ Toys for Tots
San Quentin inmates have collected $688 that will help make Christmas merrier for underprivileged children. For 28 years San Quentin has participated in the Toys for Tots giveaway program sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps with help from the Veterans Group of San Quentin (VGSQ) formerly known as Vietnam Veterans of San Quentin, according to member … [Read More...]
New SQ dramas tackle issues of social justice
A prison chapel became an effective platform for incarcerated men to address social justice issues. The Oct. 21 performances, called Parallel Plays, were inspired by themes such as power, oppression, choice, forgiveness, isolation and hope found in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Tempest, as well as in their own lives. “A lot of … [Read More...]
Earth’s main renewable resource? It’s people
Forty people, damp from rain, gathered in San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel to celebrate what several environmentalists there called the world’s most important natural resource: people. “If you think solar and wind power are the answers to our problems, you’re wrong,” said co-founder Sam Hearnes during his talk about the future of renewable energy … [Read More...]
SQ’s television signal gets an upgrade
The men in blue now have a wide variety of television channels available for their viewing pleasure just in time for the holidays — and football season. After several years of complaints about the unreliable and fluctuating television signals and many meetings and proposals about upgrading to cable television, the San Quentin administration … [Read More...]
H-Unit VOEG graduates prepare for survivor panel
“If you want to change the path of your life, go to VOEG,” said Kevin Thompson, a recent graduate of the Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) from H-Unit. VOEG is one of a myriad of volunteer-organized rehabilitation programs at California’s San Quentin State Prison. It meets once a week for two hours and usually consists of a dozen inmates, one … [Read More...]
White House Adviser Visits San Quentin’s Coding Program
Recently, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, had a conversation with senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett to talk about the public’s benefit from a computer coding program at San Quentin State Prison. “One of the reasons I came here is to learn directly from you the impact this program is having on your lives,” Jarrett said while standing in … [Read More...]
Offenders Earn Employment As Software Engineers Inside San Quentin
Federal and state-authorized Joint Venture Program allows employment of incarcerated individuals at market wages. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has entered into a Joint Venture agreement with California-based non-profit Turn 2 You, Inc., to employ trained offenders within the walls of San Quentin State … [Read More...]
‘The Mask We Live In’ Premieres at SQ
Jennifer Siebel-Newsom ventured into San Quentin State Prison on Aug. 11 to premier her new documentary, The Mask We Live In, to an audience of about 150 inmates and her husband Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. The documentary is a cautionary tale about the dangers of hyper-masculinity that’s rooted in American culture. Siebel-Newsom said after learning … [Read More...]
SQN at Oakland’s Night Out for Safety and Liberation
A national effort for public safety through community-driven methods had the support of those incarcerated at San Quentin. In August, Oakland and 25 other cities around the country led events titled “Night Out for Safety and Liberation.” At the request of the event’s local organizer, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC), several prisoners … [Read More...]
Private Prison Transport Causes Four Deaths During Extradition
Four people have died during extradition by the company Prisoner Transportation Services (PTS) since 2012, The Marshall Project reports in collaboration with The New York Times. In 2012, Steven Galack was beaten to death in a transport van by other inmates. Galack had been arrested for failing to pay child support. Two men died from perforated … [Read More...]
California Re-Entry Helps SQ Inmates Succeed on Parole
Prisons in the United State release nearly 650,000 people every year, and most of them end up back in prison. The volunteers of the California Re-entry Program (CRP) aim to help all those released from San Quentin find the resources they need to succeed on parole. “There are various things that they can help you with that can help you succeed when … [Read More...]
Prisoners Donate $1,200 Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer
The 8th Annual San Quentin’s CARES two-day Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer focuses on honoring loved ones and healing. The prisoners, some who earn as little as 18 cents per hour, contributed $1,200 by making $5 donations. Staff and volunteers donated $800. Guest Peter Bailey, who came with his wife and son, concluded, “I appreciated coming in and … [Read More...]
Student-run Newspaper Drops In on Inmate-run Newspaper
Several students and faculty from The Pioneer, California State University East Bay’s (CSUEB) student-run newspaper, visited San Quentin State Prison and its media center last month. The visit allowed the aspiring student-journalists, along with CSUEB staff, to have a first-hand look at the prison and its newsroom, where the inmate-run San Quentin … [Read More...]
Kingian Nonviolent Teachings Make Way to SQ
In a secluded room, tucked away in a corner of a prison yard, about two dozen inmates stood face-to-face, staring at each other, eye-to-eye. They paired off with the person they were looking at to quiz each other about the meaning of family, a place called home, a favorite game and something exciting that happened recently. The exercise took place … [Read More...]
Cala Manager Offers Employment Returning Citizens
San Francisco’s hottest restaurant has a general manager who believes it is smart business to hire the formerly incarcerated.Opened in September 2015, Cala with its Mexico City star-chef Gabriela Camara is San Francisco’s most talked-about 2016 restaurant, according to Daniel Smith of www.bayarea.com. The Atlantic magazine named Cala the poster … [Read More...]
Battle Brewing Over Prop. 47 Savings Allocation
There is a battle brewing over who will have a say on how Proposition 47 savings from the recent reduction in criminal penalties will be allocated. The Board of State and Community Corrections determines how to allocate nearly two-thirds of projected Prop. 47 savings (estimated to be $29 million in the 2016-17 budget.) Results from the study out of … [Read More...]
‘Get On The Bus’ Unites Fathers With Their Children
In celebration of Father’s Day, dozens of children, many with painted faces, spent the morning of June 17 in a prison visiting room, laughing and playing with their incarcerated fathers. The event, held at San Quentin State Prison, also accommodated 35 adult sons and daughters. “Children and incarcerated people don’t have a voice. They are … [Read More...]
CDCR Secretary Visits San Quentin
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Secretary Scott Kernan visited San Quentin with CDCR Director of Enterprise Information Services Russ Nichols to witness a historic event, the launch of a sophisticated and secure wireless computer server cluster which imitates the internet,. The system allows students in San … [Read More...]
Potential Employers Interview Inmates for Brighter Futures
A group of inmates who will be looking for employment opportunities once they parole got a head start at San Quentin’s third Employment Readiness Seminar (ERS). A panel of 18 women and men from the outside representing employers, trade unions, apprenticeship programs and other organizations attended the event held in May. “I really believe what … [Read More...]
Coding Students Pitch Apps to Investor
It’s hard to imagine an investor going inside a prison to discuss putting his money into a business idea dreamed up by an inmate, but that’s exactly what Jason Calcanis did on June 22 when he visited one of the most innovative prison programs in the world. “If you’re a great coder, you win. The world needs great coders,” Calcanis told the … [Read More...]
Peaceful Prison Protest is Not a Rule Violation
Senior EditorPrison inmates who participate in peaceful protests do not violate prison rules, according to an April 22 decision from a California appeals court. The ruling is a reaction to a Pelican Bay inmate named Jorge A. Gomez who went on a hunger strike in 2013. Gomez said his refusal to eat was an exercise in free speech, but prison officials … [Read More...]
Billie Mizell’s Calling with Insight Prison Project
Billie Mizell’s path to becoming executive director of several prison programs that help offenders take responsibility for their crimes was inspired by a traumatic occurrence in Monroeville, Alabama, in the 1980s. “When I was a teenager, just starting high school, a girl who was only a couple of years older than me was murdered in a nearby county,” … [Read More...]
Childrens’ Challenge with Family’s Criminal Record
Nearly half of the children in America have at least one parent with a criminal record, according to a recent report by the Center for American Progress. There are between 33 million and 36.5 million children, the December 2015 report estimates. Even a minor criminal record can be a life sentence to poverty, obstacles to employment, housing, … [Read More...]
TRUST Spanish Anger Management Graduation
The first TRUST-sponsored Spanish-speaking anger management graduation was held in San Quentin’s Catholic chapel. The ceremony is one of only a few programs exclusively dedicated to the Spanish speakers at San Quentin. The celebration was nothing like the average self-help graduation that numerous groups put on within the walled city. There was no … [Read More...]
Celebrating 2016 Day of Peace
By Juan Haines and Miguel Quezada San Quentin News Staff More than 400 inmates and about two dozen Bay Area volunteers mingled on San Quentin’s Lower Yard at the annual Day of Peace celebration to showcase the various self-help programs available at the prison. The May 7 event recognized the late Audrey Auld who performed at last year’s … [Read More...]
80 Committed Men Graduates From GRIP
By Marcus Henderson Staff Writer The 2016 Guiding Rage into Power ‘GRIP’ program graduated 80 dedicated men. The year program guided prisoners on a deep healing journey inside themselves. “Today these men are graduating from offenders into servants.” Said Jacques Verduin, GRIP Director and host of the event. “This program is ready to … [Read More...]
Opening Day on the Diamond
Warden Ron Davis showed he had some power in his arm throwing out the opening pitch in the season opener. The San Quentin All-Stars baseball team beat the visiting Bay Area Mission 5-2. John Windham, All-Stars power hitter, smashed a deep double to center field that started a rally in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 2-2. Windham scored … [Read More...]
CDCR’s New Press Secretary Visits SQ
Vicky Waters, the new California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) press secretary, toured San Quentin. Lt. S. Robinson, Public Information Officer, gave Waters a tour of the prison’s new Central Health Services Building, one of the general population units, Death Row and the media center. “Her choosing San Quentin as the first … [Read More...]
Outside Guests Flock To SQ Financial Literacy Class
Outside guests and young incarcerated men flocked to Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll’s Financial Education Class to hear him translate investment jargon into terms they understand. Up-and-coming filmmaker Taylor Laslie drove up from Los Angeles to check out the class. She heard about it from a Life of the Law podcast. Despite being a 2012 Yale … [Read More...]
CDCR’s New Secretary Plans Rehabilitative Efforts
California’s new prison boss says he plans major changes to boost rehabilitation efforts and cut back on inmate abuses. Scott Kernan said altering the prison culture is his top priority as the new secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, The Associated Press reported on Feb. 10. It’s an us-against-them culture that … [Read More...]
A Look at Peace Day’s History
The San Quentin Day of Peace committee was established to show fellow inmates ways to reject violence and support peace. The tradition continued May 7. In 2006, interracial strife kept San Quentin State Prison on repeated lockdowns. Just before a yard event to celebrate Black history, all came to a head as a race riot erupted. Afterward, a … [Read More...]
Richmond Gets Re-entry Center
By David Eugene Archer Sr. Journalism Guild Writer The new Richmond Re-entry Success Center is designed to help people recently released from prison or jail to get back on their feet, broadcast station KQED reports. The center is located in downtown Richmond to be easily accessible to formerly incarcerated people, reported Sukey Lewis for KQED. The … [Read More...]
Kid CAT Banquet Inspires National Juvenile Reform
Actress Susan Sarandon limped into San Quentin State Prison to learn from incarcerated Kid CAT members how she can help them stop the school-to-prison pipeline. “You are such an asset,” said Sarandon. “If I go into a school, they are not going to listen to me; but they’ll listen to you, and you can make a difference.” Sarandon fell down a … [Read More...]
U.S. Undersecretary Of Education Visits San Quentin
Another cadre of inmates learning computer program skills hosted a coding demonstration at San Quentin State Prison on March 15. The undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Ted Mitchell, was among those attending the demonstration, which was hosted by the coding program Code.7370. “I have 312 days left to make a difference,” Dr. … [Read More...]
Teachers’ Forum Addresses School-to-Prison Pipeline
“Teaching is a political act,” said Berkeley High School teacher Hasmig Minassian. “It’s the job for the teacher to fight for the conditions that create safety for students.” Minassian said teachers need to be willing to act decisively for the benefit of the kids, and avoid focusing on policies and practices that don’t work. She was speaking at a … [Read More...]
Enhancements Leave Thousands with Longer Sentences
Tens of thousands of convicted criminals are in state prison longer than the sentence for their crime due to California sentencing enhancements. The Investigative Unit of “NBC Bay Area News” aired a video on television Feb. 26 about unfair and unjust state prison sentences. Tennessee is 17.1 percent Black, but Blacks make up 69 percent of all … [Read More...]
Three Strikes Initiative Aims to Recruit Registered Voters
Petitions are being circulated across California, proposing to significantly change the Three Strike Law. The goal is to gather 500,000 signatures by June 17 enough to meet statutory requirements. The law requires the signatures of at least 365,880 registered California voters. Leading the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2016 campaign is CHOOSE1, a … [Read More...]
Re-entry Program Prepares Prisoners for Release
A self-help program to safely re-integrate men into their communities before they finish their prison term recently graduated more than 40 inmates. San Quentin State Prison’s Garden Chapel served as a venue for the Feb. 5 graduation. The idea behind California Re-entry Institute (CRI) is to begin the re-integration process while the participant is … [Read More...]
TRUST Graduation Honors 88 Prisoners
Eighty-eight San Quentin men completed the TRUST (Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training) program which help prisoners prepare for freedom were honored at a joint graduation ceremony. The graduation featured keynote speaker Joe Paul and the presentation of a check for $1,000 from TRUST members to an organization that supports … [Read More...]
Annual Report Strives End Mass Incarceration
After more than a decade of research and advocacy to end the harmful effects of mass incarceration, the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) continues to reach new heights. Throughout its history, PPI has relied on volunteers and interns to gather research information and to analyze and produce reports that raise awareness for policy makers and the … [Read More...]
San Quentin Hosts 1st TEDx
Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll said his inspiration to learn how to read was when he heard about stocks. He said someone told him “that’s where White people keep their money,” to a laughing audience at a Technology, Entertainment, Design, (TEDx) event at San Quentin State Prison. “It was a struggle learning how to read, but I kept at it.” Carroll, … [Read More...]
27th Annual Veterans’ Toys for Tots at San Quentin
More than 194 toys were distributed to kids visiting San Quentin during the holiday season. One of the recipients was 5-year-old Isaiah, who picked his toy and told his Dad, “I like visiting you; you’re my partner, and I like opening gifts.” The gifts were distributed over three days to children in the Main Visiting Room and the dormitories … [Read More...]
Victim-Offender Education Focuses on Spanish-Speaking Men
On his second appearance before a parole board, Jose Segura was given a release date. He attributes this success to being able to express himself clearly through what he learned in the Spanish Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG). VOEG is a program that puts offenders and victims of crime in dialogue so they can discuss the impact of crime on … [Read More...]
California Building More County Jails
California has earned a reputation as a bastion of social liberalism, but reliance on mass incarceration continues to be a major component of its criminal justice policy, says a spokesperson for Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB). “64% of California’s jail population is awaiting trial or sentencing as of December 2016.” Most remain … [Read More...]
Computer Coders Show Their Skills
The most recent group of San Quentin inmates to complete a computer programming class demonstrated their coding skills for more than 100 invited guests, including the head of prison industries, Charles Pattillo, during a Dec. 9 event held at the prison. Thirteen inmates participated in the latest class of Code.7370, an innovative … [Read More...]
Ex-prisoner Titan Returns With a Vision for Inmates
“I never thought I’d be trying to get into prison,” said Titan Gilroy, speaking to an audience of inmates at San Quentin State Prison on Nov. 19, 2015. “I know what it’s like to be in a lockdown cell for six months,” Gilroy continued. “I know what it feels like to think that nobody can truly look into my world and understand.” Once an inmate, … [Read More...]
Brothers’ Keepers Graduates Fourteen Peer Counselors
Robert Dunbar’s suicide in 2005 affected the entire San Quentin State Prison community. Patrick Mims, a close friend of Dunbar, said he had no idea or clues that the well-liked Dunbar would take his own life. “When Robert hanged himself, I took a deep breath,” said Mims. “I had just had breakfast with him.” The unusually high rate of suicides in … [Read More...]
Life of The Law Stories Showcased
San Quentin’s Life of the Law event on Dec. 5 featured inmates and visitors for an evening of delightful storytelling in the Catholic chapel. MCs Rahsaan Thomas and Professor Nigel Poor amused the audience of approximately 200 people as they introduced a combination of lighthearted and tear-jerking stories. The first storyteller, Lawrence Pela, … [Read More...]
Women Prisoners Learn Computer Skills
Monica Oliva may have spent the last 13 years in prison, but now, as she prepares to go home, she said those years were time well spent. “Although it is prison, I try to look at it as, ‘You know what? I’m going to use this time as an investment into my future,’” Oliva said. “I didn’t sit around and mope. I took advantage. It has meant a lot to me, … [Read More...]
White House Award for SQ News Adviser
In honor of his years of volunteer work at California’s oldest prison, University of California Berkeley Journalism Professor William J. Drummond was invited to the White House on Oct. 22, as part of an award ceremony for serving his community. Drummond was presented the John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award on the 50th anniversary of The … [Read More...]
Delegation From Nepal Courts Look at San Quentin in Search of Restorative Justice
Six high court judges from Nepal visited San Quentin to learn about its restorative justice practices in prison and to take part in a group dialogue. In November, the Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) and the Insight Prison Project (IPP) hosted a roundtable discussion with the justices, 12 inmates and other guests. With the help of Ashley … [Read More...]
Condemned Inmates Face New Execution Drug
The public will have a chance to be heard on California’s plan for a one-drug execution procedure at a public hearing in Sacramento, scheduled for Jan. 7 next year. Executions have been on hold in California since 2006, when a federal judge invalidated the state’s three-drug “cocktail” then used for lethal injections. The judge said executions … [Read More...]
Golden State Warriors Defeat SQ Warriors, 99-76
“Worth its weight in gold,” read a sign made from a newspaper article about the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 NBA Championship. It was attached to the fence surrounding San Quentin’s Lower Yard, which was packed with hundreds of prisoners eagerly awaiting the arrival of the champion organization for the annual community basketball game. The game had … [Read More...]
TEDx Is Coming to San Quentin
Delia Cohen is setting the stage for a TEDx Talk conference inside State Quentin State Prison in January 2016. Scheduled speakers include: Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll, former combat veteran Ron Self, Warden Ron Davis, and outside guest former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Robert E. Rubin and California Inspector General Robert A. Barton. “This … [Read More...]
‘Prison System Isn’t Changing Anything’
A well-rounded life has shaped Inspector General Robert A. Barton’s view of rehabilitation. He visited San Quentin State Prison to discuss talking at the TEDx event planned for early 2016. “We can keep locking people up or we can try to change something because the prison system isn’t changing anything,” said Barton. “AB 109 was a Band-Aid. … [Read More...]
Cheers of Inmates Greet Judge Henderson’s Visit
It is not every day that a federal district court judge visits a prison to talk to inmates. That is exactly what happened in September at San Quentin. A crowd of about 150 inmates and guests greeted Judge Thelton Henderson with cheers and a standing ovation as he entered the Protestant Chapel in a wheelchair (he has a progressive muscle disease.) … [Read More...]
The School-to-Prison Pipeline
Bay Area teachers ventured inside prison to discuss the school-to-prison pipeline and how best to tackle it. San Quentin News hosted the October forum that allowed 14 educators and 21 inmates an opportunity to exchange ideas. The teachers are troubled by the ever-increasing trend of student suspension, expulsion and arrest fueled by overreaching … [Read More...]
Facebook Founder Tours San Quentin
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg traded in his signature black hoodie for a white shirt and slacks when he toured California’s oldest prison. The 31-year old social media CEO, his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, and some Facebook staff members toured San Quentin State Prison, including the entrance to the Death Row area in East Block, on Oct. … [Read More...]
Legionnaires’ Outbreak Strikes San Quentin
When officials confirmed a case of Legionnaires’ disease at San Quentin State Prison midday on Thursday, Aug. 27, the warden ordered an institution wide lock-down, during which inmates were confined overnight in their cells without running water or access to flushing toilets. Around 1,400 inmates in North and West Blocks went without drinking water … [Read More...]
GED Preparation Class Transforms Prisoners’ Lives
At 19 years old, high school dropout LaDelle Jackson committed a minor felony and spent two years in state prison. Jackson said his prison experience hardened his criminal thinking, making him more dangerous when he was released at age 22. “In prison I was running around with my homeboys, using alcohol and drugs,” said the now 42-year-old Jackson. … [Read More...]
Juvenile Offenders Raise $8,000 To Help Youths
A group of juvenile offenders in San Quentin has raised almost $8,000 to help youths outside the prison. The prison’s Kid CAT organization raised $7,989.24 in a food sale to aid Special Olympics and the Terrance Kelly Youth Foundation. I think it’s a great partnership for Kid CAT and the Terrance Kelly Youth Foundation,” said Ernest Pulliam, a … [Read More...]
CHOOSE1 Proposes Initiative To Reform Three Strikes Law
A petition for an initiative proposing major changes in California’s Three Strikes law has been filed. The proposed initiative was received on Sept. 16 by the state Attorney General’s Office from a nonprofit, grassroots organization called CHOOSE1. It is entitled: “The Three Strikes Rehabilitation and Reform Act of 2016.” Supporters would need to … [Read More...]
Avon Raises Money For Breast Cancer
San Quentin State Prison was a place for fundraising and community building during the July 11-12 weekend—all in pursuit of finding a cure for a dreaded disease. “This isn’t about us getting money,” said inmate Rodney Capell, emcee for the seventh Avon 39 Walk Against Breast Cancer, sponsored by San Quentin CARES. “It’s about taking an interest in … [Read More...]
Burton Adult School Graduates Are Honored
After being a drug addict, doing time in prison, then giving a valedictory speech, Rodney Goldson declared that getting a GED diploma made him feel like he was “standing on top of the world.” “I found myself having self-worth as I achieved each educational goal,” Goldson told an audience of about 300 guests. “It helped me overcome low self-esteem. … [Read More...]
Alliance Encourages Prisoners To ‘Change the Narrative’
Alliance for Change held a banquet honoring community volunteers and reaffirming its goal to change the narrative. The event featured guest speakers Niaz Kasravi, PhD, and co-founder Nathanial “Shahid” Rouse. Alliance for Change is a Social Justice group. “We are bridging worlds and learning from each other,” said Kim Richman, PhD, Alliance … [Read More...]
Barrios Unidos Visits Newsroom
The founder and executive director of Barrios Unido, Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, came to San Quentin on July 19 to discuss his commitment to the community, prison and county jail reform, and the California criminal justice system. Alejandrez’s life story is no different from that than many men of color who grew up in low-income communities. He said … [Read More...]
Congresswoman Jackie Speier Given Insight Into Prison Rehab
Congresswoman Jackie Speier ventured inside San Quentin State Prison to hear firsthand about incarceration, rehabilitation and reentry from 26 inmates whose crimes included Three-Strikes, burglary, robbery and murder. “I was taken profoundly by the adjustment that so many of the men made in their lives,” Speier said. “Most people have no idea and … [Read More...]
Exploring Injustices In Mass Incarceration
More than 200 people from across America met inside San Quentin State Prison for a (Restoring Our Original True Selves) ROOTS symposium exploring the best ways to stop mass incarceration and immigration injustices. Proposed solutions included allowing rehabilitated men, who are first time offenders or committed their crimes while under 23 years … [Read More...]
15 Men Cited for Ministry Skills At 4th Annual Theological Graduation
It took more than two and a half years for 15 San Quentin Prison men in blue to finish a religiously based college course that they say not only changed their lives, but also changed how their families see them. “It’s a blessing to know that I’m no longer considered as the black sheep of my family but as the person who has been transformed into a … [Read More...]
Lethal Weapon Star Hits the Yard
You weren’t seeing things. That really was the actor from the “Lethal Weapon” movies crossing the yard at San Quentin. Veteran actor Danny Glover was the latest celebrity guest to visit the state’s oldest prison. On June 8, 2015, Glover walked into the Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG) in the middle of their class. “I was surprised about how … [Read More...]
New York State Prison Refuses to Accept SQ News
A prison in New York State found San Quentin News unacceptable reading material for its inmates because the paper allegedly advocates lawlessness, violence, anarchy or rebellion against the government. New York inmate G. Erwin, a San Quentin News subscriber, received a “Sender Disapproval Notice,” instead of the February 2015 edition. The Orleans … [Read More...]
Prison University Project Celebrates 9 Graduates
Valedictorian Keung Vanh told a packed college graduation audience that when he came to prison 20 years ago, “I didn’t even have a high school diploma.” On June 12, the standing-room-only Protestant Chapel served as an auditorium, as Vanh and eight other graduates also accepted their Associate of Arts degrees from the San Quentin Prison University … [Read More...]
Warriors Compete Against Prisoners During NBA Finals
In the midst of NBA finals, Golden State Warriors General Manager Bob Myers and assistant GM Kirk Lacob played some basketball on their own against the San Quentin Warriors. Myers played for the Green Team and led with 26 points and 23 rebounds in their 85-79 victory. “I think it (coming into San Quentin) shows that we care and that people are … [Read More...]
Immigration Attorney Offers Answers to Deportation Policies
Immigration attorney Marc Van Der Hout came to San Quentin to talk about immigration policy. For once he wasn’t venturing into prison on behalf of a client. “Since 1996 there are groups trying to ‘fix ’96,’ the immigration reform that (President Bill) Clinton would not veto,” Van Der Hout told inmates at San Quentin in May. “Before 1996, you could … [Read More...]
Abogado de Inmigración Comparte Respuestas A Preguntas sobre Polízas de Deportación
El abogado de inmigración Mark Van Der Hout experimento lo que es estar dentro de una prisión por primera vez y no fue por ir a visitar alguno de sus clientes. “Desde el año 1996 han existido diversos grupos que han tratado de remendar la reforma inmigratoria ‘96’ que el (presidente) Clinton no prohibiría,” en el mes de Mayo, el abogado Van Der … [Read More...]
Day of Peace Event ‘Like a Day in the Park’
San Quentin State Prison held its annual Day of Peace celebration on April 25. “This is like a day in the park!” folk singer Audrey Auld said to the prisoners, community volunteers and custody staff mingling on the prison’s Lower Yard. Things were different in 2006 when the Lower Yard was the site of a violent race riot. That spring day an inmate … [Read More...]
Bryan Stevenson Challenges a Broken System
On a quiet April evening inmates gathered in San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel to hear attorney Bryan Stevenson speak. About 120 inmates from Patten College’s student list accepted an invitation to listen to Stevenson, a champion for the voiceless – those condemned to death, afflicted by poverty, inadequate education and incarceration, and as a … [Read More...]
Pelican Bay Instructors Work Around Hurdles To Educate Inmates
Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) is a level four facility reserved for the most serious of California’s offenders. Half of the prison houses maximum-security inmates in a general population setting. The other half of the prison holds inmates in segregation units such as the Security Housing Unit (SHU) or Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU) … [Read More...]
Learning How to Forgive Must Precede Healing
Learning to forgive the murderer of a loved one is hard but necessary in order to heal and move forward, the visitors and prisoners who spoke at The Courage to Reconcile Restorative Justice Symposium in San Quentin’s Catholic Chapel agreed. “After losing three family members, I want the hurt to stop,” said guest speaker Mattie Scott. “I’m standing … [Read More...]
Sentencing a 13-Year-Old to Life in Prison
Nationwide, more than 2,200 juveniles under the age of 18 are serving life sentences—dozens were 13-14 at the time of their offense, according to a report by Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit legal-assistance organization founded by Bryan Stevenson. Michael “Little B” Lewis, at age 13, was labeled a super predator by a sociologist and … [Read More...]
Code.7370 Certifies 12 Men As Web App Developers
In April a dozen San Quentin prisoners graduated from an innovative technology training program where they had learned 21st Century computer coding skills. The class setting was a large space once used to store the 1930s-style printing equipment that until 2010 printed the San Quentin News. The program, Code.7370, was developed by venture … [Read More...]
Death Penalty ‘Costly, Still Broken’
The death penalty is broken in the U.S., according to a federal judge. Judge William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals told a student audience at Cornell Law School it has been almost 40 years since the court struck down mandatory executions for certain types of murder. Despite the fact that the death penalty is no longer mandatory, … [Read More...]
‘Angel’s List’ Would Review Parolee Services
Adequate reentry support is not only critical to men and women released from prison but also to their families and communities. Evaluating the quality of reentry facilities is the goal of former prisoner Brian Ferguson. “People are self-motivated to find the things that are going to help them out and the things that are going to get them back on … [Read More...]
School Adopts Restorative Justice Over Punishment
The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) found that punishing students for fighting or breaking rules was ineffective. As a result, schools in Oakland are implementing new methods for dealing with misbehavior, reported the Rockridge Patch. Now students involved in fights or other disciplinary infractions go into a Restorative Justice program … [Read More...]
The Last Mile Presents The ‘Future of Work’
Inmate entrepreneurs enrolled in The Last Mile, an entrepreneurship training program at San Quentin State Prison, presented their business proposals to an audience of 300 business executives, public safety officials and fellow inmates on March 27. The presenters’ business concepts were all phone applications that focused on such topics as youth … [Read More...]
Women Prisoners On Fire Lines
Wearing orange pants and vests marked CDCR, an all-women inmate crew is helping California fight forest fires and clear potential fuel for future blazes. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” said Stephen Scatolini, restoration specialist for California State Parks, as the female workers worked to clear dying Torrey pine trees infested … [Read More...]
Change Should Start While Incarcerated
If you want to change your life, you need to start working on yourself while still in prison, a former cop-turned-convict-turned-counselor advised a group of inmate writers. If you think change will start when you get out, that won’t work, Douglas Butler recently told members of the San Quentin Journalism Guild. “You have to practice in here, right … [Read More...]
Gov. Brown Gets Second Chance to Reshape Courts
Gov. Jerry Brown has had his second chance to reshape the nation’s most influential state court, the California Supreme Court, according to The New York Times. In his first term, nearly 40 years ago, Brown appointed the first female chief justice, Rose E. Bird, to the California Supreme Court. Bird had never served as a judge and, along with two … [Read More...]
PIA Prison Jobs Can Lead to Later Careers
For inmates, California Prison Industry Authority jobs are one way to sustain a livelihood while behind bars and after release. CALPIA employs a select group of inmates. Out of California’s 116,000 inmates in 35 prisons, just under 7,000 are employed with CALPIA, according to a report by Lisa Morehouse/NPR for KPBS. California State Prison-Corcoran … [Read More...]
Sheriff Expresses Concern Over Poverty Issues
Poverty in San Francisco is quietly growing unchecked. As one of the wealthiest cities in the country, San Francisco’s budget for fiscal year 2012-13 of $7.9 billion surpasses the budgets of 11 states. No matter how robust our local economic recovery portends, an honest assessment about poverty will remain impoverished as long as City Hall relies … [Read More...]
Tech Executives Offer Advice For Inmate Entrepreneurs
People don’t usually talk about Silicon Valley and the California prison system at the same time. However, on any given day, venture capitalists as well as business men and women right out of Silicon Valley come inside San Quentin to hear inmate ideas from the entrepreneurial program The Last Mile (TLM). TLM teaches inmates how to develop their own … [Read More...]
Elderly Expected to Be One-Third Of Inmate Population by 2030
There are approximately 2.3 million people imprisoned in the United States. Changing demographics reflect the senior citizen, baby boomer wave will deeply affect prisons. Between 1995 and 2010 the number of prisoners aged 55 and older quadrupled, according to a 2012 Human Rights Watch study. By the year 2030 seniors are expected to account for a … [Read More...]
Lifers Hold Origami Workshop for Children’s Hospital
Inside San Quentin’s Interfaith Chapel, 15 convicted murderers and lifer inmates came together to fold hundreds of origami hearts for patients at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital. The inmates’ goal was to uplift the children’s hearts and make them feel loved and not forgotten on Valentine’s Day. At the end of the origami workshops, hundreds of … [Read More...]
Watani Leaves San Quentin Again…This Time It’s Legit
One of the few men ever to escape San Quentin State Prison walked out legitimately this time, after a long stint in the same prison. In 1974, Watani Stiner fled the U.S. and lived as a fugitive in South America for the next two decades before turning himself into U.S. authorities. “There was a civil war going on in Suriname,” Stiner said. “All the … [Read More...]
S.Q. Inmates Lend a Hand To NorCal Special Olympics
Inmates inside San Quentin State Prison are currently supporting the Special Olympics Northern California Program and looking for more ways to do it. “The inmate population is very cutting edge when it comes to fund raising…other programs want to mirror what I do with you. You’re doing the food sales,” said Ruth Sanchez, the senior development … [Read More...]