The State of California is moving closer to eliminating death row.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is looking to move all inmates awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison and the Central California Women's Facility to other prisons in the state. The plan, according to Governor Newsom, would be to turn San Quentin State Prison into a “positive, healing environment,” rather than continue the conditions currently in place. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, California is one of 28 states that maintain death rows, along with the U.S. government - the last state execution was in 2006. “We are starting the process of closing death row to repurpose and transform the current housing units into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation,” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Vicky Waters told The Associated Press.
Spokesperson Vicky Waters says the department ultimately plans to repurpose all death row housing units once the inmates have been transferred. She added it could be two years until the plan to move the inmates is fully in place.