List of reasons to close prison at San Quentin growing

It’s time to permanently close San Quentin State Prison.

It’s not just because the state’s Department of Corrections bungled its transfer of prisoners from Southern California without proper testing. The result of that mistake is that more than 1,400 inmates have contracted the disease so far.

The fiasco put the incarcerated and staff at risk while threatening to overload Marin’s emergency room capacity. It also presents an opportunity. With Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering release of older, low-risk prisoners, the safe move now is to relocate everyone out of San Quentin. Once it’s vacant, seize the moment to better utilize one of the Bay Area’s prime sites.

The 75-year-old facility is an antiquated death trap. Back in 2005, a state report found San Quentin “old, antiquated, dirty, poorly staffed, poorly maintained with inadequate medical space and equipment and overcrowded.” Little has changed. At last report San Quentin was incarcerating 3,776 men, 122.5% of its capacity.

The first prison on the site opened in 1852 and has always been the location of California’s male Death Row. That’s now irrelevant trivia as there’ve been no Golden State executions since 2005 and it’s highly likely that questionable practice is over for good.

Multiple compelling rationales for closure are based on the Realtor’s eternal exhortation: “Location, location and location.” There are three location-related explanations why retaining a maximum security prison at Point San Quentin is a mistake.

The waterfront land with the fabulous view is an underutilized state asset. Due to the pandemic, state government is in financial straits. Sell the 432-acre site and utilize hundreds of millions in proceeds to fund essential state programs and build a safer 21st century prison in metropolitan Los Angeles.

San Quentin’s location is unfair to families of the incarcerated. Over the years a consistent majority of those housed come from Southern California, home to most Californians. Traveling 450 miles to see a loved one can be avoided with a new facility located closer to home.

There are far better uses of the land providing multiple social benefits.

Marin is under constant pressure to provide more housing. Point San Quentin is a logical site for innovatively designed multi-unit housing of which half should be designated as affordable. It’s also an opportunity to call the bluff of transit-adjacent housing advocates. Limit parking at the new development and forbid off-site or roadside parking within two miles of the new apartments.

The current ferry terminal restrains Larkspur-San Francisco water transit travel time due to shallow environmentally fragile straits from the current dock to deep water at Point San Quentin. Relocating the terminal to a location on San Pablo Bay cuts 15 minutes off the crossing and opens up Larkspur’s Ferry Terminal to an imaginative reuse.

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The pandemic changed everyone’s schedule. Marin County’s Civil Grand Jury is no exception. Its 2019-20 term was set to expire June 30. Sheltering in place limited their sessions and extended the time needed to complete their investigative reports until Sept. 30.

This delay also means time to apply for an unpaid one-year grand juror term remains open until Sept. 15. The 19-member jury is Marin’s only independent “watchdog” investigative body. Jurors are authorized by law to investigate every Marin public agency except the judiciary. That includes SMART, the Vector Control board, special purpose districts, schools and public employee pensions.

Marin’s civil grand jury presents an opportunity for those wishing to serve their community but don’t want to commit to elected office or appointment to a city or county commission. Jury service involves 10 to 20 hours a week. Marin’s jury needs a diverse crew of men and women with professional experiences and politically neutral orientations to conduct influential independent investigations. For more information and to apply, go to mccgja.org.

There are far better uses of the land providing multiple social benefits.