Update: On April 28, 2011, Governor Brown announced he is cancelling plans to build the new Death Row complex at San Quentin. The Governor recognized the impact the project had on the state’s budget crisis saying, "...it would be unconscionable to earmark $356 million for a new and improved death row while making severe cuts to education and programs that serve the most vulnerable among us." California will have to find another way to address the housing needs of condemned inmates.

Assemblymember Huffman is working with Marin County and business leaders in the Bay Area on a potential plan for redeveloping that property into a mixed-use development that could link the Sonoma-Marin Area Rapid Transit (SMART) rail to the Larkspur ferry for an ideal transit stop.

April 28, 2011 - Huffman Praises Governor's Decision to Cancel Cadillac Death Row Project

SQ/Marin Medical Society Magazine: The Fate of San Quentin By Assemblymember Jared Huffman

Recent Interview with Jared Huffman

California Death Penalty

On July 29, 2010, the state's Office of Administrative Law approved the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) revised lethal injection protocols, which were set to go into effect for an execution on August 29, 2011. A lawsuit filed on August 9, 2011 in Marin County Superior Court alleged the state didn't follow the rules while gaining approval for the protocols, which delayed implementation of the protocols and resumption of the death penalty. Ultimately, lethal injections have been put on hold while the court thoroughly reviews the revised protocols and the acting warden at San Quentin assembles the execution team. And court papers filed November 2011 are suggesting the soonest the preliminary legal battles over the state's lethal injection procedures will be finished is September 2012.

Lethal injection executions have been under a moratorium since 2006 when a federal judge determined the previous protocols were unconstitutional.

No California executions in 2012 as legal battle over lethal injection continues

Press, Reports & Correspondence

• 11-03-11 Executions unlikely at San Quentin in 2012
• 4-14-11 Letter from Assemblymember Huffman and Senator Leno to Governor Brown about eliminating the Condemned Inmate Complex funding
• 8-11-10 Press Release from Assemblymember Huffman opposing Governor’s General Fund loan to the Condemned Inmate Complex
• 8-15-10 Sacramento Bee Editorial
• 11-19-09 Marin IJ Article
• 7-29-09 Press Release from Assemblymember Huffman condemning the Governor's line-item vetoes
• San Quentin Updates
• Links to Daily News
• Jared Huffman on Prison Reform on KPIX (wmv)
• Reports
• 11-18-09 Letter from Assemblymember Huffman to Pooled Money Investment Board
• 2-4-09 Letter from Assemblymember Huffman and Senator Leno to Bay Conservation and Development Commission regarding San Quentin Death Row Expansion (PDF)
• 1-13-09 Letter from Assemblymember Huffman to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (PDF)