An effort to transform a previously notorious environment into a more humane environment has induced San Quentin residents to discuss what is, and what is not, normalized incarceration.
Some residents offer different opinions ranging from civilized living quarters, staff and residents’ relations, educational opportunities, and de-humanized treatment.
“I think the word normalization is being misconstrued to mean normalizing prison,” said SQ resident Steve Brooks. ”What I understand it to mean is reducing the shock value society will have on those about to return to society.”
The age-old-policy of double bunk beds is a hot-button-issue, and resident Justin Wharton is not a fan.
Wharton said that living in such a small space does not allow much privacy and it’s not conducive to a normal life.
American Correctional Association recommends 92 square feet when two people occupy a cell; at SQ two people share 46 square feet.
A prison’s investment in staff and residents’ relations to humanize incarcerated people creates a safer and healthy prison environment, according to the 2024 reimagining SQ report.
Resident Troy Varnado said that friendly interactions between custody and volunteer staff are humanizing and that these interactions are a much-needed pro-social communication tool, particularly when people have been incarcerated for decades.
“It is harder to use force against an incarcerated person when staff humanize them and understand more about the stressors and mental health challenges they face,” said the report.
Resident and literacy mentor Brett Mohr said that when staff look at residents as people but are constrained by administrative rules and laws, this says de-humanization is the law.
“An adult of normal reasoning capacity that is at the mercy of another adult of similar capacity, as the case in any prison by any standard, prison is never going to be normal,” Mohr said.
Another aspect of normalizing incarceration is through education; limitations on getting a quality education have been connected to criminal behavior in the settings of poverty, stated in the report.
SQ resident and college student Michael Edward Walker III said that to have an opportunity to get a higher level of academia is very necessary, and that education builds
character with every course taken and completed.
“The feeling of empowerment confirms my highest esteem, growth, and development,” Walker said. “When I walk into the classroom my incarceration ceases to exist because being a student normalizes incarceration.”
“Technology and education is different than it was three decades ago; those who have been in prison for a long time need to be exposed to technology in preparation for release,
“Brooks said.
He said that he encountered a guy who has been in prison since before the invention of the microwave oven. The gentleman was unaware that if aluminum foil were placed in a microwave this would blow it out.
Another educational space is the prison library where a person can enjoy the liberties of reading, studying, and quiet activities, SQ resident Jessie Milo said.
“The objective is to be more like a college campus,” Milo said. “The ability to dream is a normal thing. In prison a dream can be a negative thing because it has to be checked by the reality of your incarceration.”
Resident Abdiel Guerrero said that being dehumanized is when someone else is in control of your movement; therefore, this does not normalize incarceration. Guerrero added that when a person is not able to go in and out of their cell at their leisure, and when someone else is dictating when a person can leave their cell, this is not normal beyond the walls.
