Prison Closure Roadmap for a Safer, Healthier California - CURB

Heidi • April 3, 2023

Roadmap comes at critical juncture in policymaking decisions

Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), a coalition of over 80 organizations, presents a Prison Closure Roadmap. CURB hopes this Prison Closure Roadmap can be used as a tool for building a healthier, safer, greener California for all.

This roadmap comes at an opportune and critical juncture. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has affirmed that California could close more prisons without causing overcrowding. Calls for more input in the prison closure process are coming from community members inside and out of prison walls.

In the wake of Governor Newsom's recent announcement to 'transform' San Quentin State Prison, this roadmap serves as a reminder that the best response to ending systemic racism and abuse in prisons is reducing the incarcerated population and closing more prisons. Read CURB's statement on efforts to 'rebrand' San Quentin here.

CURB’s Prison Closure Roadmap offers a decarceral just transition framework, whereby California can support any city or town with a prison in shifting the local economy and community away from a perceived reliance on incarceration, and toward healthy and life-affirming investments in services, infrastructure, and high road jobs. The roadmap offers ten state-owned prisons as priorities to be named for closure by 2025 based on input from 2,386 systems-impacted people representing every prison in the state.

CURB's goal in sharing this roadmap is that citizens can use it in advocacy, organizing, and campaigns to call for safe, community-informed prison closures. Email us at info@curbprisonspending.org or use the hashtag #PeoplesRoadmap to let us know your thoughts!

Download and share CURB's Prison Closure Roadmap (PDF document) and action toolkit (Google Docs).

REMINDER - With your advocacy hat already on, don't forget TOMORROW 3pm PT is the deadline to send a support letter for SB94 to the California Senate Public Safety Committee ahead of the April 11th hearing. Revisit our blog post "Show Your Support for SB94 With a Support Letter by April 4th" for more information. We thank you so much for all you do.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Mail

Incarcerated Firefighters during the January 2025 Southern California wildfires (Photo: Getty Images

Prison Labor for Private Profit at the Expense of the Climate

By Heidi • May 1, 2025

Almost 600 US federal and state prisons are located within three miles of EPA Superfund Sites. As such, incarcerated people are often assigned to work for the industries that fuel climate change, performing hazardous work with little to no training while earning slave wages.

Graphic: Stop killing veterans! Save Jeffrey Hutchinson - take action bit.ly/Jeffrey Hutchinson

Help Stop the Execution of Jeffrey Hutchinson in Florida

By Heidi • April 30, 2025

Tomorrow, Florida is set to carry out the state-sanctioned murder of mentally ill Gulf War veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson. We call on our supporters to voice their opposition and take action to stop this cruel and unjust punishment.

Participants in Minnesota’s first prison chess tournament at MCF-Stillwater (Kerem Yücel /MPR News)

Minnesota Prison Holds First in the State Chess Tournament

By Heidi • April 29, 2025

Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater hosted an official chess tournament in mid-April, taking a pastime - and a way to pass time - for many incarcerated persons, and allowing them to play the game in a formal competition.

two persons holding a banner protesting solitary confinement (Photo: Solitary Watch)

Solitary Watch - When Freedom Still Feels Like Prison

By Heidi • April 25, 2025

Prolonged solitary confinement isolation destroys a person’s personality and their mental health and effects may last long after the end of the period of segregation. Solitary Watch spoke to formerly incarcerated people who spent extended time in solitary confinement about life after release.

New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord, NH (AP file photo)

New Hampshire Considers Legislation to Expand Wrongful Conviction Parameters

By Heidi • April 23, 2025

In New Hampshire, there is a strict three-year deadline to file a motion for a new trial, regardless when new exonerating evidence is discovered. Senate Bill 141 would create room for exceptions and allow the wrongfully convicted to file a motion after three years if there is newly discovered evidence.

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch (Photo: Dale G. Young, The Detroit News)

Michigan Supreme Court Rules LWOP Unconstitutional for 19-20 Year Olds

By Heidi • April 22, 2025

Last Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down automatic, LWOP sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds convicted of murder. As a result, hundreds of people will be eligible for resentencing opportunities.

Civil Rights Attorney & Author Alec Karakatsanis (Photo: University of Texas School of Law)

Q&A with Alec Karakatsanis, Author of Copaganda

By Heidi • April 21, 2025

Civil Rights Attorney Alex Karakatsanis' newest book Copaganda discusses how media coverage manipulates public perception, fueling fear and inequality, and distracts from what matters; affordable housing, adequate healthcare, early childhood education, and climate-friendly city planning.

Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla CA (Photo: Tomas Ovalle, Fresno Bee)