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Gov. Newsom helps unveil San Quentin learning center for inmates.
Corrections officials joined Gov. Newsom in revealing a new learning center to help inmates transition upon release.
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - It looks like a college campus.
But it's a new learning center on the grounds of what used to be called San Quentin State Prison, now known as a rehabilitation center for some of California's most notorious inmates.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom was on hand to unveil the $239 million facility that comes with a media center with podcast studios, classrooms, a library, a café and a reentry center, all to help inmates transition back into society when they're released.
Center focuses on providing re-entry services
The backstory:
"What kind of neighbor do you want, when someone comes back home?" Newsom asked.
Across the state, 30,000 inmates are released each year. Newsom says he wants them to be better, not broken.
"Now we've got the physical manifestation of that, and now we've got to do the work," the governor said. "It's all about programming, it's all about proving ourselves, not just asserting this paradigm."
Newsom, who in 2019 ordered a moratorium on the death penalty in the state, rejected any suggestions California is soft on crime, saying accountability and humanity are not mutually exclusive.
"But you can do both things at the same time, and we're proving that," he said.
San Francisco DA voices support
What they're saying:
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was among those at the event.
"When you think of who would be here celebrating, most people would not think that a district attorney would be one of the people," Jenkins said.
"This is about public safety. So many of the residents here will and should get the opportunity to come back to us outside. And what we want more than anything is for them to come back whole," she added.
San Quentin Warden Chance Andes said the center will help foster relationships between inmates and corrections officers.
"When we reduce this 'us vs. them' mentality, that's what causes that, so you see a lot of retaliation. So we've seen our violence drop, we've seen our recidivism drop by offering more programs," Andes said.
"Every individual here that comes into [the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], they're not their worst mistake," said Elizar Guerra.
Guerra is serving 15 years to life for second-degree murder and is a mentor in the peer support program.
"To have a place like this where we can come and feel free and feel like 'OK, maybe I can be a productive member of society,' it means a lot for the people who are maybe marginalized here at the facility," Guerra said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: KTVU reporting, Gov. Newsom's office, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation