Gov. Gavin Newsom knows his changes to California prisons will be part of his legacy, from suspending the death penalty to refashioning San Quentin as a hub for rehabilitation.
“It was always about public safety,” Newsom told a San Quentin press conference in February. “It was about dealing with the fundamental fact that 95% of people in this system are going to go back into your neighborhood. And what kind of neighbors do you want them to be?”
Today we’re publishing a special report on what rehabilitation looks like for one young woman who committed a terrible crime and received a life sentence. The story might be difficult to read.
While driving drunk at age 22, Grace Coleman killed two parents, Gabriela Andrade and Henry Saldana-Mejia. Coleman had no memory of the accident and had to piece together details of what happened from her hospital bed.
- Coleman: “In the beginning, I was like, all right — I clearly got to get therapy. I need to get my mental health in check. Clearly something is wrong with me if I just woke up and found out I killed people. This doesn’t just happen.”
Her path forward really began when she pleaded guilty and spent time with her victims’ family. As CalMatters’ Joe Garcia writes, she’s now incarcerated at a time when California is encouraging rehabilitation for people who are willing to wrestle with the why of what they did. Because of these changes, she has access to therapy, medication, support groups and activities that were not necessarily available in years past.
Although sentenced to life, Coleman likely will be paroled one day. What happens after that will answer Newsom’s question on what kind of neighbors former prisoners will become.
- Jeff Roberts, an attorney who represented Coleman’s victims: “Grace needed to serve a good length of time. But I don’t think she needed to serve a life sentence, because quite frankly — that she killed two people and left three people orphaned is a life sentence. Emotionally, she won’t forget about that.”
Join CalMatters and the UCR School of Public Policy on Sept. 24 in Riverside for a conversation about our investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department seizure of mail ballots and what it means for future elections. Register today.
Other Stories You Should Know
Sprint to the finish at the Capitol
With days to go until the end of the legislative session, lots of things are brewing at the state Capitol:
- California Forever setback: Solano County supervisors voted against proposed legislation that would have allowed the billionaire-backed California Forever to speed up the creation of a new shipbuilding facility by exempting parts of it from environmental review. The vote threw a wrench in California Forever’s wider efforts to develop a new city and manufacturing hub in the county. Read more from Kate Wolffe and Yue Stella Yu.
- Coastal carveouts: Newsom is pushing a plan that would give an environmental carveout to an oceanfront project belonging to Jeff Worthe, a Santa Monica developer who is also a donor to the governor. Environmental advocates are slamming the last-minute proposal and oppose any backdoor deals that sidestep a state law limiting development along the coast. Read more from Stella.
- Cheaper GLP-1 drugs?: A bill that aims to lower the price of anti-obesity medications, or GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, is one step closer to reaching the governor’s desk after clearing the Assembly earlier this week. If passed, the state would partner with a drug maker to produce cheaper GLP-1 drugs and distribute it through the state’s CalRx program. But it’s unclear how long this could take: California’s $55 insulin took three years to bring into market under CalRx. Read more from Ana B. Ibarra.
The classics for Gen Z
UCLA is debuting the nation’s first department and bachelor’s degree in digital humanities, a major that combines technological savvy with traditional subjects in the humanities, writes CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn.
The major fuses computer tools for statistical analysis, coding, 3D mapping and data visualization with traditional humanities in subjects such as history, literature and global cultures.
The multidisciplinary approach should appeal to employers’ increasing desire for recent graduates to think critically while also being able to harness new software and work with team members.
The major starts this fall, but the subject has been taught at UCLA for around two decades. A minor in the program is the school’s second most popular.
- Todd Presner, UCLA professor of European languages and transcultural studies who co-led the effort to turn digital humanities into a department: “It’s actually at our own peril when scientists are not speaking to folks in the humanities with historical knowledge, ethical knowledge, cultural knowledge.”
And lastly: CA sues to protect mail-in voting
Describing it as a “clear violation of the Constitution,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday that the state is suing to stop efforts by the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting before the midterm election. Read more.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The death of three bills that would have made the state government more accountable for education outcomes implies that legislative leaders are not ready for those changes yet, even though they’re willing for the governor to have more authority over education.
The state needs to step in and fix a broken, decades-old funding mechanism that has led to San Mateo County facing an annual shortfall of $226 million, write Jackie Speier and Ray Mueller, members of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
Other things worth your time:
Meta to pay $17B — and limit ‘likes’ for teens — in social media settlement with states // CalMatters (free)
Taxing the rich cracks open the Democratic coalition // Politico (free)
Trump can’t cut off funding to communities whose policies he opposes, court rules // The Mercury News (gift link)
Nearly 300,000 K-12 students are homeless in CA, UCLA report says // EdSource (free)
Years late, billions over budget: CA’s high-speed rail hasn’t laid a track // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)
CA gas prices ‘shaping up to be the highest on record.’ What you’ll pay // The Sacramento Bee (paywall)
CA lawmakers sound alarm about urgent need for $2B for Olympics transportation // LAist (free)
SpaceX windfall presents dilemma for CA pension fund // Bloomberg (gift link)
