Contra Costa Times
CALIFORNIA — San Quentin State Prison is 157 years old; it is overcrowded and in need of extensive renovation. Yet the state has plans to spend $400 million on an expansion and is considering updating the prison’s death row.
Instead, California should seriously consider closing the antiquated prison, selling the land and using the money to build a modern replacement on far less expensive property.
Selling San Quentin land is not a new idea. It has been considered many times in the past and once again this year under SB 28 introduced by state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced.
Denham believes the prime Bay Area waterfront site could fetch up to $2 billion. Those funds could be used to build a larger, new prison and still have money left over.
That makes a lot more sense than spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on an aging facility at a time when the state’s budget is seriously out of balance.
Denham’s bill does have a flaw, however. It would move San Quentin inmates to other prisons while the state builds a replacement. Unfortunately, California’s prisons are way overcrowded and there is scant space available for the 5,222 inmates in San Quentin.
Why not put a bond measure on the ballot to raise money for a new prison? The bonds could be backed by the value of the San Quentin property and no inmates would have to be relocated until the new prison was ready to accept them.
It would be senseless for the state to move forward with plans to spend $400 million on San Quentin expansion, when it is far more cost-effective to build a new prison elsewhere. That is the conclusion of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which recommends canceling the expansion project.
The $400 million saved, along with up to $2 billion from the sale of the San Quentin property, would allow California to increase its prison space in new facilities at a smaller cost.
The American Civil Liberties Union opposes moving death row because it would distance inmates from Bay Area attorneys.
That is a weak argument. Attorneys can travel. Besides, another prison could be built not too distant from an urban center, where there are a sufficient number of attorneys.
The benefits of selling San Quentin and using funds for a new prison or prisons far outweigh any objections. It is puzzling that such an approach has not yet won enough support in the Legislature to move forward. We believe California voters would back such an effort.
Copyright 2009 Contra Costa Newspapers