San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins organized and hosted a forum that brought to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center a dozen elected prosecutors and other officials from across the state. The May 8 event held in Chapel B included 121 San Quentin residents and many members of the staff.

For the first time ever, a District Attorney from Los Angeles, Nathan Hochman, visited San Quentin. Ten other counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, San Diego, San Mateo, and Shasta — all sent their elected top prosecutors. Marin County sent a Chief Deputy District Attorney and Riverside County sent a Managing Deputy District Attorney. San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties both sent Supervising Deputy District Attorneys.

“I would like to thank my fellow district attorneys from across the state for joining me at San Quentin to witness the transformative power of effective rehabilitation programs and to start this important dialogue around how we can work collaboratively to make our communities safer,” said Jenkins.

“I commend the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office for spearheading this vital symposium and bringing elected District Attorneys from across California to San Quentin,” said San Quentin Warden Chance Andes. “Your commitment to addressing disparities and promoting equitable sentencing practices is a crucial step toward a more just and compassionate criminal justice system.”

The meeting’s primary purpose — to explore approaches that would ascertain accountability and meaningful rehabilitation without compromising public safety — began with a large circle in which all participants introduced themselves. Introduction details by residents included their counties of conviction, their offenses, and their sentences.

The forum then turned into a panel discussion in which San Quentin residents discussed their rehabilitation.

Jenkins took the stage with three residents and Officer Kruse from the California Model Resource Team. The discussion focused on frank presentations of the rehabilitative journeys of the residents while at San Quentin.

Jenkins said, “It is by law that we cannot speak to you. Once the case is over, we never see you again. Now we get to ask, ‘How did the system fail you?’”

The California District Attorney’s Association also sent a representative. Jonathan Raven, a former Yolo County prosecutor and now the CDAA’s Assistant CEO, said he had last come to San Quentin to witness an execution. “Back then,” he said, “San Quentin was all about Death Row and executions. Now, it’s all about rehabilitation.”

He called the forum very impressive and added, “Too bad the other prisons in the state do not have the support that you have here.”

Managing Deputy District Attorney Ivy Fitzpatrick from Riverside County said she felt appreciative about having received the invitation to come to San Quentin, adding that she found the event enlightening. “I am very glad I came. I learned a great deal and I thank everyone for being so open to talk about your experiences.”

Nevada County officials echoed these sentiments. “This should be the example for all rehabilitation in the state,” said Jesse Wilson, Nevada County’s District Attorney. Assistant District Attorney Lydia Stuart said she wondered how to implement the San Quentin model in other institutions in the state. She added that the hope and the presentations of accountability impressed her the most.

The event then broke for a tour of San Quentin. First-time visitors showed great interest in San Quentin’s “dungeons,” and then proceeded to the San Quentin Media Center.

After the tour, the prosecutors and residents reassembled for a pizza lunch in the chapel. Residents joined tables hosted by the prosecutors of their counties.

Los Angeles District Attorney Hochman hosted the largest table with 27 residents crowding around him. Residents unable to sit directly at Hochman’s table formed a second row and ate their lunch with plates on their laps.

Hochman spoke for nine minutes. After thanking San Quentin’s residents for their “brutal honesty,” Hochman said, “I definitely believe in the power of rehabilitation,” adding, “I like the idea of role models as a way to reach kids.”

Hochman also made a statement that astonished many residents: “The LA County jail system — we have to blow it up to fix it.” The mainstream press (both the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle had sent reporters to the event) had left before Hochman spoke.

Resident Rahan Asaan said, “To blow it up would mean to rebuild the same structure with a differnet paint job. The system should be developed to intervene with at-risk youth before they enter the preschool-to-prison pipeline. Also, laws should be developed to release prisoners who have demonstrated rehabilitation. Not focusing on the person who has changed does a disservice to the criminal justice system.”

Ursula Jones Dickson, the Alameda County District Attorney, said, “I had some really deep conversations with the men at my table. I want to applaud the work you all are doing.”