A prison sentence should not be a death sentence.

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Art for Justice board and staff members visited San Quentin during the Fund’s first year to learn about the experiences and concerns of those inside. Photo credit: Lt. Sam Robinson

Friends,

A prison sentence shouldn’t be a death sentence, but the distinction has been blurred by COVID-19 coupled with inhumane conditions of confinement. Of the 10 largest coronavirus “outbreaks” in the United States, nine have occurred in carceral settings.

San Quentin, California’s oldest prison, was built in 1852. A maximum security facility, it occupies 275 acres on the north side of San Francisco Bay. Due to the age, design and disrepair of the stone buildings, concern for the health and safety of those living and working at the prison has long been an issue. Chunks of concrete regularly fall from the walls and ceiling. Most windows are welded shut and ventilation is substandard at best. As of May, 3,776 men were incarcerated in San Quentin – equivalent to 122.5 percent of its full capacity. Cells measure 4 x 10 (not wide enough to fully stretch one’s arms) and most housing blocks have about 20 shower heads per communal bathroom that are used by 800 prisoners.

Last month, San Quentin became the eye of the devastating COVID-19 storm. How did the prison go from zero infections to more than 1,300 in a matter of weeks? Because state corrections officials transferred a group of 120 elderly and medically vulnerable individuals seven hours north from the California Institution for Men in Chino, when positive cases were identified there. San Quentin officials were told the transferees had all tested negative, but it now appears that few had been screened at all. Upon arrival, many were visibly sick and required immediate care. Others were “quarantined” on the top two tiers of a five-level general population unit where social distancing is virtually impossible and access to personal protective equipment has been limited.

“What happens in a prison doesn’t stay there. Walls won’t keep the virus in, just as walls haven’t kept it out. COVID-19 is a societal problem, not a San Quentin problem. Congregate settings are an accelerant for the virus and if I’m not safe, you’re not safe.”
–Adnan Khan, Executive Director, Re:Store Justice

Today, it’s estimated that about 40% of San Quentin’s population is infected with the coronavirus along with at least 100 staff and guards. More than 60 have been hospitalized outside of the prison. Seven have died. This tinderbox shows no sign of abating and the lives of incarcerated people, staff and community members are at growing risk.

“One month in, I was given a couple of cloth masks and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. That’s it over the four month period. It’s an impossible situation and anxiety is high.”
–Adamu Chan, Activist & Journalist

At the end of June, a Marin County Town Hall was held to discuss the need for urgent action. Almost 600 people attended the virtual event hosted by Art for Justice Fellow, Adnan Khan, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Re:Store Justice; Phil Melendez, Program Director, Re:Store Justice; and James King, State Campaigner, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. All were formerly serving life sentences at San Quentin and are leaders in the movement to end mass incarceration. They were joined via telephone by Adamu Chan, an activist and journalist who is currently incarcerated.

“Mass incarceration and structural racism have been a pandemic for many years. Now there’s COVID-19 which is an affront to humanity. Folks need to be released. This isn’t what public safety looks like.”
–Phil Melendez, Program Director, Re:Store Justice

The presenters described their coalition’s advocacy demands: 1) a dramatic reduction in the prison population throughout California; 2) the halting of all prison to prison transfers, including ICE facilities; 3) a central Covid-19 Emergency Response Team led by public health experts rather than prison officials; and 4) recognition that prison outbreaks are community outbreaks, and therefore require a community response. At the end of the call, organizers discussed a large protest planned for 1 pm at the East Gate of San Quentin the very next day. Everyone was urged to attend and to reimagine what America could become if ‘We the People’ actually encompasses all of us.

“We must change the narrative about those inside. They’re not monsters. They shouldn’t be sentenced to die in prison because the system is broken. San Quentin’s cases are not separate from others in Marin County.”
–James King, State Campaigner, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

July 9 post-script: The Coalition’s efforts are having an impact. California officials fired the chief medical officer of its corrections department and the Governor is mulling other changes, including early release for some. Please take action around this humanitarian disaster.

Kind regards,

The Art for Justice Fund Team
www.artforjusticefund.org ([link removed])
At San Quentin, Agnes Gund met Clint, who shared his thoughts about what can be done to change the broken justice system. Photo credit: Lt. Sam Robinson
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