Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in no other State in the USA so many people were sentenced to death as in California.

Currently more than 740 people are sentenced to death in California. Almost all of them are housed at the San Quentin State Prison.

A Letter to Loneliness

by Santiago Martinez

You know, it took me a minute to get the idea I would be living with you. It seemed as if we were married. I have to put up with your unexpected mood swings… coming and going, but still always present – not ever going too far, not ever letting me know when you´ll return, yet I know you will.

I know, I know, I must learn to cope/adapt and embrace the good and the bad. At times you give me so much peace, then again you stir feelings I didn´t know.

Maybe because I´ve always escaped reality with drugs and alcohol, I didn´t pay too much attention to you… but, when I´m sober: oh, how I feel your presence! At times I like it, at times I hate it, but it´s what we do with it and what good can come from it. Anything can have a purpose if we just put a little creativity to it!

So… come, Loneliness, it´ll be just me, and you and my thoughts. Heck, and if someone else comes along to join us, it´ll be a plus!

Tomorrow

by Woody L Wilson

WILL all my tomorrows be the same as today?

REMEMBERING good times that will no longer will, replay.

WHAT last forever? All things are stored within, but are the days
of my past enough to last.

I ask myself

I ask you.

 SHOULD I live? should I die WHY?
BECAUSE tomorrow is near and maybe worthwhile

MY yesterdays I can never reclaim but if I see another day

I can hope for a change.

I know it sounds strange hearing from a true GEE! Tried of the game

BUT I want a WHOLE lot more than these tears and pain,

SHACKLES and chains and

STILL my strength DAILY I regain!

IN god I trust that there will be many tomorrows for me and fellow captives

NOT like today not like yesterday

BUT truly a new day. We all pray for a new day called tomorrow!!

FREEDOM FOR A DAY

by Al Cunningham

In the past, I have expressed my sadness at not being able to see any forms of green plant life growing and nature as a whole, as well as other such conditions and experiences which each and every person sees and endures within the activities and travels of their everyday lives on the outside. Often people don’t even take the time to open up their eyes and appreciate the beauty which surrounds them, but for me, today, was a day filled with wonder, excitement, mystery and different experiences from that of my usual cold concrete, asphalt and steel bars encasement. Today, even if only for a few hours, I was free to experience the outside world.

With plans to lay-in and sleep until noon, I was certainly not expecting to be awaken at 10 a.m. and told to get ready for a trip to UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. But within the next few minutes while attending to my hygiene, the excitement began to build-up within me. I was shackled and chained and placed in the back-seat of the transportation car where the windows would become my eyes to the world outside. ...

 Art

Breaks the Prison Bars

by Armando Macias and Anja Claudia Pentrop

Heartless Country

by Joseph Hart

Tonight another tear will fall

And break my heart in two

You want to kill a friend of mine

You say „It’s what we do“.

(Chorus)

Oh what a heartless country

Oh what terrible state

You kill to show killing is wrong

And you think that it’s okay

Oh what a heartless country

Oh what a terrible state

They make great strides to better themselves

And you say „It’s just too late“.

Another man’s time has come

His mom will fall and cry

While you were screaming out for death

She watched her own son die.

(Chorus)

I’m tired of losing friends of mine

And you don’t blink an eye

I ask myself time and again

How many more must die.

(Chorus)

Night Sounds

by Al Cunningham

- DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND: MANUEL BABBITT -

I listen every night

to the sounds of loneliness,

to the sounds of desire,

to the sounds of need,

to the cries for freedom.

I listen every night

to the sounds of thoughts

fluctuating and envisioning,

to the sounds of snores,

to the coughs,

to the breathing’s of hopes and wishes.

I listen every night

to the sounds of hate,

deceit, confusion, wonder and sorrow.

I listen every night

to the sounds of pain, torture,

psychological taxation and denials.

I listen every night

to the sounds of young men

turning old before their time,

to the sounds of weeping, hurting,

frustration and humiliation.

I listen every night

to the sounds of dreams,

anticipation, fears and...

I listen every night

to yells and screams,

to footsteps pacing the floors,

to forgotten memories,

to uncertain futures,

to tears of despair.

But tonight …

I listen to the clanking of the door,

the strapping of belts,

the sticking of needles,

and the knowledge that tomorrow;

I will be no more.

Last Look

created by

Todd Givens

STATE OF DESPAIR:

Afflicting the afflicted

 by Crandell Ojore McKinnon

In an attempt to prevent California prisoners from successfully taking their own lives, the state installed an ineffective "Guard One System," throughout its Security Housing Units (SHU) and Administration Segregation Units (Ad-Seg). The Guard One System, implemented four or more years ago, requires a C.O. (Correctional Officer) walk each tier every 30 minutes and clock each cell with a pipe like gadget that must be connected to a sensor that's attached to every cell's tray slot; when properly connected it registers with a beep. This security check is to ensure every inmate is alive and well. The problem with this system is, it hasn't prevented suicides nor any attempts within San Quentin State Prison (S.Q.), death row/East Block unit. Thus, what is the purpose or reasoning behind the system? ...

MY LOGICAL PROCESS

by Al Cunningham

As I sit here this morning watching the sun rise, observing all the important and positive effects it‘s warm rays has on every form of life it touches. I'm encouraged to contemplate upon the influential moments of my earlier years of existence and their effects upon me. Notwithstanding and to whatever degree, nothing is as intense, excellent or glorious as the immediate existing reality.

In many instances and primary, I am fortunate, honored, and most appreciative to have lived to as long as I have. I am what the young men call “Pops“, and what society classifies as “an old man”. With this title comes certain cognizance of consciousness, actualities and truths I am forced to face and endure. I will get physically weaker with each approaching day ...

This Ain't Livin'

by Crandell Ojore McKinnon

This ain't livin‘

Immobilized

Cramped in a bathroom size space

My sentimental valuables stored

in a box

Bird-bathing out of a bucket

That doubles as a wash bucket

This ain‘t livin'

Child portion meals

Supplement it with, "Add Hot Water”

Cooks in 5 minutes, instant soups

Refried beans and rice

Preserved meats and seafood

This ain't livin'

Doin' time

Conscious of every tick-and-tock

Knowing society is advancing

without me

While I measure hours,

to balance my weeks

Every year a day closer to the penalty

As I concentrate on keeping time

on my flush and shower minutes

When you are surviving,

you ain’t livin'

This ain't livin'

Attacks on my mental

Assaults on my Human sensibilities

As I stride through filth

Stripped of my dignity and decency

With calculated attempts to sever

my communication beyond the wall

This ain't livin'

The never-ending dysfunction

Of disorganized noise

The stench of bowel movements

Surrounded by a cesspool of immature talk

And enthusiastic sex play

Amongst self-proclaimed heterosexuals

This ain't livin'

Strip down
Run your fingers over your gums

Behind your ears

Lift your testicles

Turn around, lift your right foot,

now your left

Squat and cough

Get dressed

This ain’t livin’

Having my movements shadowed,

by guards with guns

DANGER

No Warning Shots Fired on this yard

And the threat of lethal injection

WHEN AND WHERE WILL IT END?

by Bill Clark

l’m sure you’ve had your share of nightmares, but what if you woke up one morning after dreaming you had been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death?

Imagine your conviction and death sentence being a product of perjured testimony by police and civilian witnesses along with evidence which had been manufactured, hidden, destroyed, altered and consistently lied about by prosecutors. Imagine going through the actual process of being arrested, fingerprinted, strip-searched and photographed. Imagine the process of being formally charged, transferred to court and going through a preliminary hearing and trial.

Have you ever thought about what such a chain of events would do to your life and to the lives of your family and friends? Well, for a moment, l’d like you to think about such a predicament! ...

End Oppression...

by Armando Macias and Anja Claudia Pentrop

UNDERNEATH MY BED -

A MONSTER WAITS

by Al Cunningham

It is not uncommon that children often tend to believe that a monster lives underneath their beds. For me, the latest transformation in my present existence is something which is an everyday belief in the face of the reality which confronts me.

Equally terrifying and destructive in my present state of mind is the fact that for me, this monster really does exist, because just around the corner is the chamber where that monster lives. It is there where my future may someday come to a screeching halt, where my presence no longer serves a purpose, and my past – a thought in the back of someone's mind.

Unseen, but felt, I wear a mask. A mask which I have seen so many others wear before me. It is the manifestation of the fears and uncertainties that lie ahead. It is this uncertainty and fear which compels me to write these words, in hopes that all who read them will know and understand my feelings of expecting the worst and praying for the best. ...