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California Governor Gavin Newsom intends to dismantle San Quentin State Prison death row and turn the section into a “positive and healing environment”.
Three years, Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions and plans to transfer all sentenced inmates to other prisons within two years.
“We are starting the process of closing death row to repurpose and transform the current housing units into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation,” corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters told The Associated Press.
The last execution that took place in California was in 2006.
California is one of the 28 states that m they have death rows, along with the United States government, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
While other states in the country have abolished executions, such as Illinois, California merges its sentenced inmates with the rest of the prison population without expecting any to face execution in the near future.
At 2019, Newsom placed a moratorium on executions and closed the state execution chamber in San Quentin, north of San Francisco.
The transfer of convicts to other prisons has already begun
In January 2020, prison officials began a 2-year voluntary pilot program which, as of Friday, had moved to 100 of the 673 recluse Sentenced males from the state to one of the other seven prisons that have maximum security facilities surrounded by lethal electrified fences.
Waters said he intends to submit proposals for permanent regulations within the next few weeks that would make transfers mandatory to allow reuse of all San Quentin death row housing .
The ballot measure that passed 6 years ago required that condemned inmates will participate in prison work, with 70% of the money destined for the restitution of their victims, and prison officials said that is the goal with the transfers.
By the end of last year, more than $ had been raised ),000 dollars in restitution under the pilot program.
Newsom’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 seeks $1.5 million dollars to find a new use for the empty homes of the condemned.
Death Row and its support activities are in the same area as the facility used for rehabilitation programs for medium security inmates at San Quentin. The money would be used to hire a consultant to “develop options for (the) space focused on creating a positive and healing environment to provide greater opportunities for rehabilitation, education and medical care”
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