Four Bay Area public defenders are collaborating to seek the release of non-violent inmates from San Quentin State Prison, where a coronavirus outbreak has claimed 25 lives, a top lawyer in the San Francisco Public Defender’s office said Wednesday.
Danielle Harris, managing attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, said conditions at San Quentin violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
“What we’re asking the Marin court to acknowledge is the (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) is at least deliberately indifferent to the lives and well-being of the people inside (San Quentin),” Harris said during a virtual news conference hosted by Oakland’s Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
The prison had no documented cases of COVID-19 until shortly after the May 30 transfer of approximately 120 people from the California Institution for Men in Chino, which had roughly 500 active cases at the time and had reported 13 deaths.
Since then, the virus has infected more people at San Quentin than at any other state prison. As of Wednesday, the CDCR has tallied 2,232 cases and 25 deaths at San Quentin. The Chino facility, meanwhile, has had 1,103 cases and 19 deaths.
CDCR officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom have repeatedly said they intend to “decompress” the population at San Quentin and the prison system in general by granting early release to certain non-violent offenders to prevent
further coronavirus outbreaks.
CDCR officials have also touted the steps the agency has taken to bolster health and safety by routinely cleaning facilities and installing hand sanitizing stations.
Thank God for California voters. Truly gifted, and wise.
So we’ve imported both infected patients and inmates from SoCal.
Was the intention to spread the virus from region to region? That certainly was the effect.
We knew we were in trouble when they brought infected people from cruise ships to Travis AFB and the workers were not given PPE. The spread was imminent. They knew the inmates were infected and continued to move them from one prison to another. In Virginia, a released rapist found and killed the woman who accused him. He was released due to Covid and told he could not leave his house.
I said in March, crime is going to increase.
Sounds like a great idea,,,,,, what could possibly go wrong ?
Ok but please make sure they have a plan to help the inmates find employment and housing. Rehab and keep their eye on them. Ankle bracelets and reporting to their probation officers. All this will cost less than keeping them in prison.
@Ilovepopcorn…How about exploding neck implants with GPS and a timer like Snake Plisskem in “Escape from LA”.
The lack of awareness is spectacular with this one. The economic shutdown has created the highest unemployment ever and popcorn expects the government to find jobs for THESE scumbags?
Wow. This is stupid. Why not try to figure out a better way to mitigate the spread in the prison? I’m sorry it is a pandemic, but they are criminals.
They will just end up in hotels at our expense even though we are broke.
Recall newscum
Popcorn, you really must be lost in the 40’s! These people are HARDENED CRIMINALS!. We’re not talking about releasing a petty thief. We’re taking a about releasing murderers, rapist, and others in prison for committing the harshest of crimes. They are career criminals! They don’t care about your jobs or social rehabilitation programs! If they’re released, they will go right back to their life of crime! That’s all they know! You just don’t seem to get it! Your mentality is exactly why California is in the predicament it is in. Release the criminals and then complain about the increase in crime! Get your head out of he sand!
Let see that could be a car thief or someone that burglarizes your house when you are away or a drug dealer who has sold dope to those that end up ODing. Maybe not a good idea for the average Joe. I say no.
Hmmmmm, Imperial Valley COVID19 patients sent to Northern Ca the first week of July, end of May infected Chino prisoners sent to Northern Ca, and was it April the infected cruise ship was docked in Oakland?
I see what’s happening. Got to keep everything EQUAL.
Yup, . . . . watch him eventually “decompress” population at San Quentin to zero then into condominiums going for millions of dollars each. Perhaps making some long time campaign contributors very happy.
Mar 13, 2019 newsom executive order, a Halt to the Death Penalty in California.
February 2020 state begins voluntary transfers of death row inmates to other high security state prisons.
“Corrections officials dismantled the state’s newly built $853,000 execution chamber at Newsom’s direction”
https://www.marinij.com/2020/02/13/california-to-move-some-condemned-inmates-off-death-row/
“Don’t do the crime if you don’t want to catch Covid-19”.
exactly. This is one side effect of being in jail. Because you are a criminal! Catching a virus and becoming sick, should not be a factor on whether you remain in jail for your crime, or not. It is just the way it is. I hope that someone somewhere wakes up and smells the coffee. More innocent people (who obviously are not in jail) harmed.
only convicts that had a public defender
that convict is to live in that pd’s personal home
that pd must fully support that convict until they are on their feet
Deal???
wink wink
Oh hell no. Keep-em locked up together and let nature take it’s course.
They never considered the consequences prior to their breaking the law now did they?
Cruel and unusual punishment? Naw.
Exactly!!
They should all be sent to Newscum’s house to wait until covid is over and then back to prison.
Release? Were these people put in prison for no reason?
Two-thirds of the inmates have already had the virus and have recovered. It looks like the prison is close to achieving herd immunity. Why release anyone early who’s already recovered? They’re obviously no longer at risk.
@The Observer—excellent observation! Keep herd immunity in the prison…no need to release them early…
I’ve watched public defenders twist the truth right in front of my eyes. My neighbor got shot because the crook with a gun had to protect himself.
This is nuts.
They already violated someone else’s rights. Keep them locked up.
They’re pulling the rug right out from under us, strand by strand. Sad, but I’m really thinking of buying a weapon.
Make sure the weapon you buy is a firearm
“The prison had no documented cases of COVID-19 until shortly after the May 30 transfer of approximately 120 people from the California Institution for Men in Chino”
Now don’t any of you jump to conclusions, this is nothing like 1738 and the Cherokee. They would Never do such a thing.
Oh perfect…..figures it the public defenders….Maybe they dont understand that to get to prison you have committed a felony…and most likely have been caught more than once…..rarely does a first timer get to go there…
Leave ’em in jail & give them masks!
Just like us.
instead of releasing them why don’t you just give them all masks since we have to wear them and you say that they work so well there should be no reason to release prisoners just give them masks I’ve asked this question of everybody all the way up to the governor and still have got no response
In California domestic violence is considered a nonviolent crime.
Neither is trafficking a minor.
https://keepcalsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Prop20-Crimes-List.pdf
These moves of prisoners have been spreading outbreaks across the prison system. San Quentin is where it is because someone bought this argument for Chino.
Burglars, pimps, drug pushers, prostitutes, and wife abusers are all non violent…
sure as long as they are released and housed in marin
and if they jump the DA loses their job
has to be consequences for liberal idiocy
NO keep them where they are if a mask will work fine for the public safe why won’t it work for inmates?
So will Newscum and his croonies open their homes to them so they will be off the streets and kept away from law abuding citizens?
Becton will you open your home to the released?
Watch the numbers rise and crime go through the roof
What the hell is wrong with everyone? What the hell do they think will happen when they let out possibly sick, career criminals with no job and possibly no home. THE IGNORANCE IS APPALLING.
My thoughts: LET UM DIE. Most should have already been put down years and years ago for their crimes. There is no sympathy here.
So Newscum, Pelosi, Harris and Pelosi why don’t you eagerly open your home to them since you are all on the public dole to begin with and wasting our tax payer monies.
Otherwise keep them locked up as they abused the system and committed crimes. It befuddles me that criminals get more benefits than the hard working taxpayers these days. It is a fact.
Old school you do the crime you damn well better do the time. You had no regard for the laws no matter what your sad story is-now face the consequences.
To let them out to commit more crimes and to infect the rest of us NO WAY!
If this can be kept tied up in legal red tape until after the election they will probably lose interest in the project.
Our Governor has realized he is running out of time, so prepare for him to push through as much stupid legislation as possible until the recall.
How about just starting them all on Hydroxycloroquin? Works at least as good as a mask.
One would hope that the four DA’s would one day be residents in San Quentin.
108RS
Send them on a slow boat to China, along with the governor and his cronies.
SAN QUENTIN — “A 48-year-old man convicted of murder and robbery died Sunday August 2nd.of apparent COVID-19 complications, state prison officials said”.
“Romero was one of 715 people awaiting execution on California’s Death Row, though Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively suspended the death penalty here”.
A pity it takes a virus to deal out the justice in CA.
It would be ironic that in suspending the executions at San Quentin and allowing the transfer of Covid positive prisoners there, more prisoners died at San Quentin during Gavin Newsom’s time in office than any other California Governor of California.
What is going on? Did our officals take a stupid pill. Liked the pills so much they are now addicts. Common sense is gone.