The latest News & Blogs written by staff, incarcerated colleagues & community members
KQED: Released from San Quentin, Rebuilding Their Lives
Ongoing discussions about releasing incarcerated people early to help curb the spread of the coronavirus inside prisons — and the politics behind those discussions — have shined a recent spotlight on the question of what happens when people leave [...]
An Interview With Philip Melendez on Othering and its Consequences with Franknews
Read the interview here.
Watch Our Friend, Activist & Formerly Incarcerated Firefighter Rasheed Lockheart on Democracy Now!
Watch him speak about the California's use of incarcerated labor to fight fires here & follow him on Twitter @RsheedLockheart
The Unseen Shackles by Artie Gonz
“I am a formerly incarcerated individual.” Originally published on Medium here This is not something I typically lead with in my day-to-day life. In fact, I rarely opt to make such a pronouncement at all, [...]
Families of the Incarcerated Protest Due to COVID-19 Cases Across CA Prisons
Loved ones of those incarcerated held multiple protests in Sacramento as the state works to reduce the growing number of COVID-19 cases at prisons. Read more here.
#StopSanQuentinOutbreak Marin Town Hall on Saturday, 15th August at 1pm
Join us for an online town hall sponsored by Restore Justice, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and #stopsanquentinoutbreak, on Saturday at 1:00PM to raise support for community-based reentry orgs! Join us at bit.ly/SupportReentryWebinar. It will also be [...]
Sacramento Caravan: #SayTheirNames & Bring Our Loved Ones Home Thursday 13th of August
Join us for a #SayTheirNames action at the Capitol Building followed by a car caravan to CDCR and a candlelight vigil at night to honor lives lost. Please see the schedule for more details. #ClemencyNow [...]
#StopSanQuentinOutbreak Press Conference
Press Conference today - Wednesday August 12th at 1PM PST. Tune in to hear from public health experts, lawyers, activists, formerly and currently incarcerated individuals as well as loved ones of those inside. Watch here
The Appeal: My Friend Died In San Quentin Due to COVID-19. His Death Was Entirely Preventable.
Incompetence and inaction by California’s leaders are driving illness and death inside the state’s prison system. Read the article here.
My Incarcerated Father & Our Family Face Discrimination At Top Bay Area Hospital
By D’Wanda Schwarz & Rebecca Weiker My father Alan Beisel age 74 was incarcerated at the California Medical Facility. He was housed there specifically because of his age and medical needs. But when an outbreak [...]
NPR KQED: ‘We’re Talking About Human Beings’: Released from San Quentin, Adnan Khan Advocates for People Still Inside
From KQED, Listen to the entire interview here Adnan spent the last four of his 16 years of incarceration at San Quentin State Prison. Now he's an outspoken advocate on behalf of his incarcerated friends [...]
Blog: Proximity Hurts
I just found out my friend died. He contracted COVID-19 in San Quentin State Prison after a botched transfer of positive cases there. As I write this in my grief, I cannot imagine the devastation [...]
ABC 7 News: Activists Call on Gov. Newsom to Address San Quentin Outbreak
On Thursday, a coalition of advocates and lawmakers called Stop San Quentin Outbreak is at San Quentin State Prison to demand Gov. Gavin Newsom take action to fight the COVID-19 crisis at the prison. Activists [...]
NPR KQED: Forced To Breathe the Same Air: A Look Inside CA Prisons During a Pandemic
At least half the population at San Quentin State Prison has tested positive for COVID-19. Adnan Khan spent the last four years of his prison sentence there. While he was at San Quentin, he founded [...]
A Condemned Person That Was Found Dead Had Coronavirus. Nearly Half the Cases in California Prisons Are in the Same Facility
Adnan Khan, executive director for Re:Store Justice, a criminal justice reform advocacy group, said it's impossible for detainees to follow social distancing protocols and other guidelines by the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. "The shower [...]
Major Coronavirus Outbreak at San Quentin Prison
San Quentin prison officials are trying to stop a spike in coronavirus cases ravaging inside the state prison just north of San Francisco. About 1,100 individuals have now tested positive for COVID-19. Watch here
Behind Bars, but Still Posting on TikTok
Adnan Khan, the executive director of Re:Store Justice, a criminal justice reform organization he helped start while in prison, says he often used contraband phones to search for basic information online. The day Khan got [...]
CORONAVIRUS IN JAILS AND PRISONS
Adnan Khan, who spent four years in San Quentin and is currently the executive director of the advocacy organization Re:Store Justice, said he’s not surprised that people on death row have become infected. There are no [...]
INTERVIEW: Phil Melendez On San Quentin’s Conditions
Pat talks with Phil Melendez, Program Manager for Re:Store Justice, about his time at San Quentin, the conditions, shortfalls, COVID in prisons, mass release and other fallacies. Check out the podcast here.
Coronavirus Cases Surge at San Quentin Prison
San Quentin is home to a growing number of coronavirus cases following a botched transfer of incarcerated people from a men's prison in Chino, which was previously reported as having the deadliest outbreak in California's [...]
Our Work featured on Democracy Now! Outbreak at San Quentin: COVID Is Skyrocketing in CA Prisons. Why Haven’t More People Been Released?
As coronavirus rapidly spreads through California’s overcrowded prisons, 400 people have tested positive for the virus at San Quentin State Prison. Advocates and incarcerated people warn conditions behind bars make it nearly impossible to stop [...]
Join Re:Store Justice for a Virtual Gathering for Impacted Survivors
In this moment of pandemic and protest, we are more than ever aware of what it means to be a survivor: A survivor of the justice system, a survivor of racism and trauma and loss [...]