The Governor’s Pledge to Close Two California Prisons Could Be Just Lip Service. Here’s Why.

By Amber-Rose Howard, Brian Kaneda, and Dax Proctor

Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration recently announced plans to shut down Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI; Tracy, California) by September 2021, a first attempt to fulfill his personal pledge to close one or more state prisons by 2023. DVI, a dilapidated, 67 year-old prison with a repair price tag of more than $800 million, would seem a logical first choice. However, the specifics of Newsom’s plan for prison closure — or lack thereof — have left myself and many other criminal justice advocates skeptical about his approach.

During a protracted admission to the Senate Subcommittee 5 hearing on Corrections and Public Safety on February 11th, California Department of Corrections (CDCR) officials let it slip that in fact, DVI is slated to be deactivated, but not actually to be closed.

In a deft sleight of hand, the prison will be kept in “warm shutdown” mode, which keeps plumbing, electrical, and water treatment operations active — and staff on hand — in case of an “emergency.” CDCR freely admits that this is because they believe there are “too many unknowns” to permanently close DVI, or any other prison for that matter.

Despite decades-long overcrowding in California’s prison system, not a single person is scheduled to be released because of DVI’s “closure.” The 1200 people incarcerated at DVI will simply be transferred to other prisons. And barring some cursory conversations informing advocates of their intentions to “close” DVI, to my knowledge, no advocacy groups, incarcerated people or their families have been consulted about which prisons to close and why, or how best to do so.

As of February 12th, 2021, CDCR reports that at almost 50% of the total incarcerated population has contracted COVID-19. And they’re dying at a rate that’s 8 times that of the general population. Public health and criminal legal experts had called for the release of as many as 50,000 people in prison to blunt the impact of the coronavirus behind bars. In October of 2020, an appeals court ruled that San Quentin prison, after showing “deliberate indifference” to incarcerated people’s health, must reduce its prison populations by half. These are mainstream — not radical — ideas. We’re left wondering: why does the Governor only want to close two prisons? The state’s own Legislative Analyst’s Office produced a report in November of 2020 that recommended California to close five prisons by 2025, saving at least $1.5 Billion annually.

This should resonate with the Newsom administration, since it appears saving money — not saving lives — is their highest priority. It’s true: closing just two prisons could save California tax-payers a whopping $400 million a year, resources that could be reinvested back into the communities that need them most. That’s big money, but only pocket change considering the tens of billions of dollars California spends on prison projects, amounts which have been historically impervious to spending controls.

We know that closing prisons in California is a huge undertaking with innumerable moving parts. That’s why it’s vital that any roadmap to prison closure isn’t cooked up in some dark, smoke-filled room in Sacramento. Community members must also have a seat at the table. We need ‘People’s Plan’ for prison closure for this to really work.

A serious plan for prison closure means that closed prisons stay closed; prison populations are reduced through releases, not transfers to other unsafe facilities; corrections budget are slashed; investments in reentry and other services are prioritized; voices of justice-impacted people are heard; and that labor solutions for displaced prison staff are front and center. Let’s not forget the enduring need for a reckoning on racial injustice. That means not only dramatically increasing prison releases, but changing ‘tough on crime’ laws and policies that drive the incarceration crisis, filling the state’s empty prison beds and reinforcing a toxic culture of perpetual punishment.

Could Newsom’s big talk on prison closure be just that? Is it just smoke and mirrors to appease tireless advocates and principled journalists who have held the Governor (and CDCR) to task for the deadly blundering of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in California prisons?

If Newsom’s move to close prisons is more than just lip service, the community stands ready to partner with his administration on this long overdue effort. We’ll do what we’ve always done — help fight to ensure outcomes that save valuable resources and lives. Anything less isn’t prison closure, or racial justice. It’s just public relations.

CURB is Black-led and prioritizes the wisdom and lived experiences of people directly impacted by incarceration.

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