San Quentin State Prison of execution.

A contributing factor is that the

California Corrections Department and other
LINDSEY LIVINGSTON RUNELL state prisons encounter challenges in obtaining
Kutztown University, USA
adequate supplies of the lethal drug because drug
manufacturers are not willing to sell them to
penal institutions. Judge Carney decided this
slow system led to cruel and unusual punishment
San Quentin State Prison, located in San Quentin, in violation of the eighth amendment to the US
California, opened in 1852, making it the old- Constitution (Jones v. Chappell 2014).
est prison in the state. Since 1927, the prison In the meantime, San Quentin prison officials
has been a male-only institution. According to face other problems related to housing inmates
the California Department of Corrections and who face death row. Since 2006, this inmate pop-
Rehabilitation (CDCR), it is designed to hold a ulation has grown from 641 to 749 people but San
maximum of 3,088 people, but 4,260 men are Quentin has only 715 beds for those condemned
currently incarcerated there. San Quentin Prison to death. Death row inmates currently occupy
is the only penal facility in the state where male 708 of those cells. Others serving death sentences
inmates serve death sentences. As of October are either being held at their respective state insti-
2016, there are 749 convicted killers condemned tutions to attend court hearings, in long-term
to San Quentin’s death row (CDCR 2016a), 18 care facilities, or housed in prisons outside of
of whom have exhausted all appeals, making California. On November 4, 2014, California
them eligible for execution (Puente 2015). In Proposition 47 was passed into law and since
the State of California, the manner of execution then has provided some relief to this problem.
has changed over time from hanging and gas The purpose of this statute is to counter prison
chamber to lethal injection. However, no inmates overcrowding throughout the state’s prison sys-
in San Quentin Prison have been put to death tem by reclassifying non-serious, non-violent
since Clarence Ray Allen was executed in 2006. crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. As a
Since then, 71 other death row inmates have result, there has been a noticeable increase in
died from a variety of causes, including suicide court-ordered releases of inmates who were
(25) and health complications (CDCR 2016b). convicted of low-level, minor offenses, such as
Inmates serving death row sentences are in a state petty drug sales. This initiative does not directly
of limbo as all executions in the state of California impact inmates who are sentenced to death for
are currently on hold (St. John 2015). noneligible violent and more serious crimes. Yet,
There are two important reasons behind this overall, this realignment policy has helped to
temporary pause on California’s death penalty: facilitate a significant drop in California’s prison
the US Supreme Court’s pending decision on the population, freeing space at San Quentin State
legality of the lethal injection method and, more Prison and other state penal institutions (Peter-
specifically, the constitutionality of the manner in silia 2014). In response, Governor Jerry Brown
which this punishment has been carried out in the made a request to the California legislature for
state. For example, on July 16, 2014, Federal Judge $3.2 million to expand San Quentin and essen-
Cormac J. Carney of Orange County declared the tially take advantage of the cells that are now
state’s death penalty unconstitutional owing to available. He proposed that the funds would be
the fact that this punishment was not effectively used to open almost 100 additional cells for men
imposed (Jones v. Chappell 2014). Particularly, on San Quentin’s death row (St. John 2015).
hundreds of San Quentin inmates now sit on Aside from the practical issues surrounding
death row, although there is only a remote pos- the swelling prison population at San Quentin,
sibility they will actually be put to death, given there is an institutional focus toward preparing
the continuing litigation concerning the manner inmates for re-entry through reformative and

The Encyclopedia of Corrections. Edited by Kent R. Kerley.

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118845387.wbeoc234
2 S A N Q U E N T I N S TAT E P R I S O N

educational-based programs. Of the 34 adult inmate college students across the United States
prison facilities in California, San Quentin offers (McCarty 2006).
the widest range of rehabilitative programs main- There has been a recent policy shift in favor of
tained through the support of volunteer service higher education opportunities for incarcerated
providers, such as clergy, former inmates, and individuals. Despite this change, the College
faculty members. Most notably, San Quentin Program at San Quentin initially received very
offers an array of different educational, social, little financial backing, given that there is cur-
and employment-related programs that inmates rently no official system or channel for funding
can participate in to provide a constructive outlet carceral college programs at either the federal or
for their spare time. state level. As a result, from 1999 to 2003, inmate
An often cited example of prosocial opportuni- college students at San Quentin had to rely upon
ties offered in the prison is the San Quentin News, donations provided by publishers, scholars, and
which is the only inmate-produced newspaper other academic professionals for textbooks and
in California and among only a few that exist in course-related essentials. In 2003, these circum-
the United States. The San Quentin News (2016) stances were improved under the leadership of
website reports that the periodical was originally Jody Lowen, who founded the Prison University
called Wall City News and was boasted to be “the Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
only newspaper in the world published within the enriching both the programmatic and practical
walls of a prison” when it was started in the 1920s, aspects of the College Program. She is currently
but production stopped for a few years in the the executive director of the project as well as
mid-1930s. In December 1940, this inmate-run the extension site director of Patten University at
newspaper was revived and renamed San Quentin San Quentin, which is an accredited institution.
News by Clinton Duffy, who served as prison war- Through the Prison University Project, program
den from 1940 to 1952. Since then, the paper has participants receive instruction from Patten
been periodically suspended at various points University faculty members, and, upon comple-
in time. It was brought back in its current form tion of studies, are eligible to earn associate of
in June 2008 by Robert Ayers, Jr., a retired San arts degrees. As of June 2016, 120 inmates have
Quentin prison warden. To date, the San Quentin graduated from the project with this credential.
News is distributed to 17 other California prisons, Aside from the success rate, this model of carceral
with a goal of reaching all 34 adult state facilities. college programming is exemplary, given that it
It provides up-to-date coverage on prison events, is self-sustaining, meaning that it is operated with
as well as special interest topics that might appeal no support from federal or state governments.
to both inmates and prison staff members. Over Rather, all salaries and student expenses includ-
20 inmates write articles for monthly issues, ing for textbooks and school supplies are paid
under the advisement of other prisoners and through the organization and are thus funded
four external volunteers, who have experience in through individual contributions and fundraisers
publishing, editing, and media writing. (Lowen 2014).
Another highlight of San Quentin State Prison Given the sheer number of prisoners currently
is the Prison University Project, which houses serving sentences at San Quentin, the carceral
the College Program and serves as a model for and postcarceral benefits of inmate participa-
prison-based higher education both at local tion in college classes are important to note.
and national level. The College Program at San Evidence suggests the potential transformative
Quentin was formed in 1996 and, since its incep- power of engaging in higher education courses
tion, has been the only onsite, degree-conferring, offered at San Quentin. Many of the men who
higher education opportunity for inmates within are incarcerated at the prison come from socially
the entire California state prison system. Prior to and economically disadvantaged backgrounds,
this time, college opportunities for prisoners were a foundation which often breeds a cycle of low
essentially nonexistent. This was largely due to academic preparedness and success, as well as a
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement circle of crime and incarceration. In addition to
Act of 1994, which eliminated the availability of circumstantial hardships, there are certain “pains
Pell Grants, a primary source of financial aid for of imprisonment,” which are effects gained from
 S A N Q U E N T I N S TAT E P R I S O N 3

the incarceration experience. San Quentin State re-entry into society. Against this backdrop,
Prison, in particular, has been described as a specific attention should be given to the con-
violent facility where some of the most serious ditions of incarceration experienced by all
criminals, including those serving death sen- inmates at the prison, including those who
tences, are kept. All of these factors taken together are serving death sentences. Indeed, there are
can present challenges for inmates who seek to well-established “pains of imprisonment,” which
break away from their criminal past and pursue are often made worse through social interactions
a higher education during their confinement. that occur in prison settings and can impact
The College Program at San Quentin is designed reintegration efforts and chances of reoffending.
to help counteract some of these ill effects of These concerns should be voiced in contempo-
mass incarceration. Eligible students must pos- rary contexts to better understand the impact on
sess at least a high-school diploma or general crime, public policy, and the administration of
equivalency degree. Once enrolled, program justice.
participants take core English and mathematics
classes and are encouraged to write essays, think SEE ALSO: Death Penalty; Death Row; Educa-
critically, and solve problems in logical ways. tional and Vocational Programs; Overcrowding in
Many faculty volunteers are eager to provide Prisons; Rehabilitation
additional help with completing assignments,
but the use of technology is severely restricted
(McCarty 2006). References
Regardless, San Quentin prisoners can engage
in other educational programs or employment CDCR. 2016a. Death Row Tracking System: Con-
functions that provide the opportunity to gain demned Inmate List. http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/
broader technological experience during incar- Capital_Punishment/docs/CondemnedInmateList
ceration. In fact, inmates who clerk in the library Secure.pdf?pdf=Condemned-Inmates.
or education department regularly use com- CDCR. 2016b. Condemned Inmates Who
puter technology to perform their basic job Have Died Since 1978. Office of Public
and Employee Communications, July 18.
duties. Moreover, the Last Mile, a San Francisco
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Capital_Punishment/docs/
nonprofit-based organization, is the first program CONDEMNEDINMATESWHOHAVEDIEDSINCE
in the United States to offer a comprehensive 1978.pdf?pdf=Inmates-Died.
blend of technology and business-related train- Jones v. Chappell, 31 F. Supp. 3d 1050 (C.D. Cal. 2014).
ing that can help facilitate positive experiences Lowen, J. 2014. “Prison Education and Social Transfor-
during and after incarceration. Through this mation.” St. Louis University Public Law Review, 33:
initiative, San Quentin has implemented the 353–361.
Technological Entrepreneurship Prison Program, McCarty, H. J. 2006. “Educating Felons: Reflections on
an opportunity for participants to learn computer Higher Education in Prison.” Radical History Review,
96: 87–94.
programming and acquire business prowess.
Petersilia, J. “California Prison Downsizing and Its
There is now also a course on offer called Code Impact on Local Criminal Justice Systems.” Harvard
7370, which is aimed at helping inmates to Law and Policy Review, 8 (2): 327–357.
become proficient in computer coding and be Puente, K. 2015. End of the Line: 18 Inmates Await-
eligible for tech-related employment opportu- ing Execution. The Orange County Register, Decem-
nities in nearby Silicon Valley. Private business ber 20. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/inmates-
employers are now considering the first group 696852-state-appeals.html.
of course completers for paid coding projects. San Quentin News. 2016. History. http://
This would mark the first time in US history sanquentinnews.com/about-us.
St. John, P. 2015. “California’s Death Row, with no Exe-
when individuals perform work as computer
cutions in Sight, Runs Out of Room.” Los Ange-
programmers for private sector establishments les Times, March 30. http://www.latimes.com/local/
while incarcerated (Wells 2015). crime/la-me-ff-death-row-20150330-story.html.
Thus, San Quentin State Prison seems poised Wells, G. 2015. “San Quentin, Tech Incubator.” Wall
to serve as a template for prison-based higher Street Journal, April 9. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/
education, inmate rehabilitation, and successful 2015/04/09/san-quentin-tech-incubator.
4 S A N Q U E N T I N S TAT E P R I S O N

Further Reading Sykes, G. M. 2007. The Society of Captives: A Study of a

Maximum Security Prison. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Sampson, J., and Laub, J. H. 1995. Crime in the Mak-
ing: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life. Cam-
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press.