San Quentin News

01/05/2026

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s most important and exciting sporting event of the year took place in mid-September when the Golden State Warriors made their annual trip to San Quentin’s Lower Yard.

Everything else took a backseat as this year’s event became a celebration of the relationships between the San Quentin Warriors and Kings basketball program, Prison Sports Ministries, and the seven-time NBA Championship dynasty.

“It’s like a motivation to come here,” said Warriors’ returning two-way player Jackson Rowe, 28. “The NBA is a grind, [so] we come to help motivate you guys [incarcerated residents], and it reminds us to stay after it.”

High-fives and hugs were the first order of business as the Warriors entourage came down the hill and across the yard to the basketball court as resident fans and members of the basketball program welcomed the champions with open arms, literally.

✍️ Martin Keith Dewitt
📸 Marcus Casillas
Read the story:

Resident team fails to overcome seven-time champions Warriors’ insurmountable lead December 31, 2025 by Martin Keith DeWitt David Rodriguez. (Photo by Marcus Casillas, SQNews) San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s most important and exciting sporting event of the year took place in mid-September w...

12/31/2025

If you've read San Quentin News, then you know that no one else can do this work — reporting from ground zero on the first rehabilitation center in California.

Not only do we hope to give our peers a voice, but we hope our stories help YOU better understand what it's like to be incarcerated at a time of unprecedented change.

If you'd like to power our journalism in 2026, your donation will be matched dollar for dollar until midnight TONIGHT.

Don't wait! Donate today, double your impact: https://giving.classy.org/campaign/713237/donate

P.S. Donations of $50 or more receive a complimentary 12-month print subscription to San Quentin News and CCWF Paper Trail

San Quentin News is an award-winning, prisoner-produced publication that relies on generous donors like you. Your donation enables us to continue sharing stories of our peers, shining a light on the conditions of confinement we face, and contributing to the public's perception of incarceration.

12/30/2025

Curtis Lee Ervin had not seen the moon in four decades. In November 1986 he was arrested, and from 1991 until about a year ago he lived inside San Quentin’s East Block, on Death Row. He was never supposed to see the moon again.

East Block is where California once held more than 700 condemned male prisoners. Many of them call it “The Row.” Today the building is empty, and approximately 80 of those prisoners from The Row are housed at California Health Care Facility in Stockton, Calif.

Ervin said his death sentence was recently vacated by the Alameda County Superior Court. He was resentenced for manslaughter and paroled on August 25.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ervin, a 72-year-old African American. “I saw the moon for the first time in 38 years.”

On The Row, Ervin was confined to his cell about 18 to 20 hours each day. He was never allowed to mingle with prisoners in the general population, and anytime he left East Block he was handcuffed, shackled with a waist chain, and escorted by a correctional officer.

Read Ervin's story:

Former condemned prisoner resentenced and paroled December 30, 2025 by Kevin Sawyer A view of the moon from San Quentin’s housing units. (San Quentin News Archive) Curtis Lee Ervin had not seen the moon in four decades. In November 1986 he was arrested, and from 1991 until about a year ago he live...

12/23/2025

Meet the 13 graduates of our Spanish Journalism Guild 🎓

The class, taught by volunteer and computer science and journalism teacher , covered all of the basics of journalism in just 15 weeks! They learned everything from how to interview to how to craft a compelling, concise news story, all with an eye toward the unique challenges faced by the Spanish-speaking incarcerated community.

We couldn’t be more proud of the class of 2025 and are excited to see what they continue to do with journalism 🗞️

Look out for their bylines at SanQuentinNews.com 🔗

12/23/2025

Meet the graduates of the 2025 Journalism Guild 🎓

These students braved an intensive 15-week introduction to journalism to learn a style of writing that was brand new to many, if not all, of them. Whether they were discussing the issues facing their peers or the difference between a summary and anecdotal lede, they all came to class with enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn.

I hope you’ll take the time to read their bylines, whether that be in or elsewhere, because they all have something to say 💫

Graduates:

12/23/2025

12/19/2025

The latest issue of San Quentin News is out now 🥳

In this edition:
➡️ San Quentin's 2nd film festival
➡️ How a smuggled book changed a life
➡️ Why prison service provides SHOULD face competition
➡️ Gun rights may be restored for some felons

Read the issue:https://sanquentinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SQN-DECEMBER-2025-ISSUE-187-PRINT.pdf

12/18/2025

San Quentin’s infamous Death Row has been empty for more than a year. The institution’s East Block used to house more than 700 men who have been condemned to die by lethal gas or lethal injection. Where are they now?

About 80 prisoners from “The Row” — a name many of them call East Block — reside at California Health Care Facility in Stockton, California. At times, police, prosecutors, politicians, and prison officials refer to them as the “worst of the worst.”

However, rehabilitation does occur in unlikely places. Facing state-sanctioned ex*****on for decades, figuratively and literally, some of The Row’s best experienced self-reflection and self-improvement. Police reports, court documents, and prisoners’ central files do not often reflect who they are after decades of incarceration.

Read about the residents who've come off Death Row:

Former Death Row residents thrive at CHCF December 17, 2025 by Kevin Sawyer No more shackles, cuffs, or escorts bring feelings of anxiety and gratitude The former entrance to condemned row. (SQNews Archive) San Quentin’s infamous Death Row has been empty for more than a year. The institution’s E...

12/16/2025

The legend of John Cluchette looms large in California’s prison system. To many, both in and out of prison, John is viewed as a brother, friend, and activist who advocated for the rights of his peers.

It was John’s 1971 federal case, J. Cluchette v. Procunier, that helped bring reform to CDCR’s 115 disciplinary process, for the first time affording inmates due process rights, including calling witnesses and producing defense evidence.

To some prison officials, John was a ranking member of the Black Guerilla Family prison gang. He, along with George Jackson and Fleeta Drumgo, faced accusations of murdering officer John V. Mills at Soledad prison in 1970. The three men would come to be known as the Soledad Brothers.

John would later be acquitted of the charges, and FBI files documented that he was not a member of the Black Guerilla Family.

Now incarcerated like his father, John’s son Kojo Damani Cluchette is attempting to forge his own path — one outside of his father’s shadow.

✍️ Jason Jackson
📸 Marcus Casillas
Read full story:

Ghost of father’s past does not deter resident’s journey December 11, 2025 by Jason Jackson Kojo Cluchette. (Photo by Marcus Casillas, SQNews) The shadow of a person’s past can sometimes be a burden that stalks them like a plague. Fortunately, for one man, he has managed to escape his past. Ko...

12/11/2025

Tomorrow, 41 San Quentin residents will graduate from our Journalism Guild and Filmmaker Training Programs 🎓

So it’s only right we take a look back at last year’s Guild graduation. Many of the graduates are now staff writers and/or produced award-winning films that were shown at this year’s 🎉

We can’t wait to see what this year’s class will accomplish, and how they’ll choose to contribute to the narrative around incarceration 🙌

12/09/2025

Keffier Savary is a man of many aptitudes: painter, sculptor, and musician. He is also a veteran and now, he’s incarcerated in California Health Care Facility. He hails from Kingston, Jamaica, but is known to friends as “Miami” after the city that raised him, and where his talents surfaced.

“Art was always in me,” said Savary. “I was good in art and music, but music was my true passion.”

Out of fear of negative influences, Savary said his mother diverted his attention from music by having him try out for an art program, to which he was accepted.

“That’s when I started getting serious,” he said, recalling the days he would watch Bob Ross paint on television on PBS. Through his studies, Savary placed in national art competitions, received scholarships, and was commissioned to paint portraits and murals.

The events of September 11, 2001, however, quickly changed Savary’s path. Filled with a sense of patriotism, he joined the U.S. Air Force. “Even though I wasn’t in the military for art, when they found out about my skills, they had me build [a] statue.” He was commissioned to create a life-sized welded statue of a pilot made of sheet metal — now permanently on display at Heritage Park in Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Now serving a 77-year-to-life sentence, Savary said prison ironically brought him full circle — back to art. He said his time inside has reignited his creative fire, despite institutional setbacks, like CHCF’s rejection of his art supplies from approved vendors.

🎨 Find Savary's artwork at
✍️ Kevin D. Sawyer
Read the full story:

Resident’s creativity reignites artistic fire despite setbacks December 9, 2025 by Kevin Sawyer Keffier Savary with his artwork. (Photo courtesy of Keffier Savary) Keffier Savary is a man of many aptitudes: painter, sculptor, and musician. He is also a veteran. He hails from Kingston, Jamaica, but...