Beyond Prisons

Brian Kaneda and Woods Ervin join the show to tell us about the Close California Prisons Campaign. This campaign is led by the statewide coalition known as Californians United For A Responsible Budget (CURB), pressuring Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Correction to close prisons across the state.  Last year, CURB released The People’s Plan for Prison Closures, which they describe as “a visionary report that outlines the failures of California’s bloated carceral system, and offers bold, community-centered solutions for our jail problem.” After setting the stage and explaining a bit about the current state of incarceration in California, Brian and Woods tell us about the campaign's goal to close 10 prisons by 2025 and release 50,000 people or 50% of the population—demands which they say represent the floor. We discuss the criteria the campaign developed for selecting which 10 prisons to close first, the work of their partners in the coalition, the lack of a plan put forth by state authori