Prisons

San Quentin housed California’s death row for decades. Now Gov. Newsom wants the prison on San Francisco Bay to emphasize rehabilitation and helping inmates re-enter society.

Between 2014 and 2020, California's elderly parole program had a 19% release rate. Many of these incarcerated seniors are dying or will die in prison, despite extremely low recidivism rates for their age group.

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan says it’s time to let California prisoners vote.  To be clear, the Culver City Democrat who leads the Assembly election committee, isn’t talking about extending the franchise to people with felonies on their record. California and 21 other states already allow for that.  Bryan’s bill, which he introduced as a proposed amendment […]

Incarceration shortens the life expectancy of inmates and correctional officers alike. Many California leaders view prison closures as a cost-saving measure, but the health benefits may be more impactful for the people who live or work inside.

For almost nine years, Lorenzo Mays disappeared inside Sacramento County jail, charged with a murder he insists he didn’t commit. During that time, Mays was never brought to trial. He wasn’t allowed to leave. Instead, he remained in a kind of legal limbo, with most of his years spent in solitary confinement. The reason? Judges […]

The state’s prisons are no longer a world rehabilitation model, but Stockholm Prize winner Francis Cullen says the system could return to greatness.

Newly acquired state data shows that the Corrections Department transferred patients with serious mental illnesses an average of five times over a six-year period, underscoring a CalMatters’ investigation this year that revealed the practice and raised questions about the harm it could cause.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill that seals certain criminal records. The new law could reduce recidivism and help millions of past offenders secure a job or housing.

If this week is any indication, Attorney General Rob Bonta is on a mission. On Wednesday, he announced that his office would conduct an independent investigation into last year’s redistricting in the city of Los Angeles following the explosive publication of a secretly recorded meeting in which three city council members and an influential labor […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected legislation that would have made the nation’s most wide-ranging changes to solitary confinement.