Blue state ‘prioritizing the criminals’ with $239M taxpayer-funded prison project, prosecutor says

A authoritative successful California blasted the state's $239 cardinal taxpayer-funded task to physique a situation rehabilitation halfway successful the Bay Area, arguing that it's different illustration of politicians putting criminals up of law-abiding citizens.

Construction is ongoing astatine the San Quentin State Prison, wherever operation crews are gathering a Norway-style rehabilitation halfway with luxury amenities specified arsenic a market store, library, café, farmer's marketplace and more. $360 cardinal was initially allocated for the project, but the last outgo to physique the rehabilitation halfway is estimated to outgo taxpayers astir $239 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Building 38 astatine San Quentin State Prison was demolished to marque country for the rehabilitation center. The authorities bureau said the rehab halfway is portion of the "California Model," which is simply a "holistic inaugural that leverages international, data-backed champion practices to amended the well-being of those who unrecorded and enactment astatine authorities prisons."

A operation program for the task shows that the caller San Quentin Rehabilitation Center volition diagnostic an acquisition and vocational center, on with different amenities similar a media center, library, market store, café and a learning center. An archetypal program for the rehabilitation halfway states that the on-site farmer's marketplace volition ideally beryllium tally by section producers.

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Rendering of the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (CDCR)

A PowerPoint descent shows wherever antithetic amenities volition beryllium located astatine the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. (CDCR)

Crews enactment to wide the country wherever the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center is being built. (CDCR)

The program states that the conception for the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center "embodies a humane field atmosphere" that promotes "growth and self-empowerment, portion guaranteeing information and security."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the task successful May 2023 and said the caller rehabilitation halfway volition "make each of america safer."

"California is transforming San Quentin – our state’s astir notorious situation – into the nation’s astir innovative rehabilitation installation focused connected gathering a brighter and safer future. We are virtually tearing down walls to reimagine our situation system, incentivize existent rehabilitation, and extremity cycles of unit and crime," Newsom said.

Construction connected the rehabilitation halfway is estimated to beryllium completed by aboriginal 2026.

A presumption descent shows antithetic elements of the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. (CDCR)

Jonathan Hatami, a authoritative successful Los Angeles County, told Fox News Digital that helium supports the effort to modulation inmates into civilian life, but helium said the task is excessively costly for taxpayers and that the wealth isn't being spent well.

"The archetypal occupation I have, though, with this concern is the cost. In California, we can't money our stateless programs. We can't money Medi-Cal oregon Medicaid. We can't money officers," Hatami said. "And truthful we can't money truthful galore programs that are important to radical present successful California."

The Los Angeles authoritative said this task sends a connection to California residents.

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Rendering of the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (CDCR)

A rendering of the completed San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (CDCR)

"It appears that we're prioritizing the criminals implicit the remainder of us," Hatami said. "And that's a large occupation I person is the priorities of this authorities look to be, astir of the time, tilted towards the transgression alternatively of looking astatine the remainder of California and saying there's truthful galore different things that we should beryllium backing that we can."

Todd Javernick, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "The holistic inaugural leverages international, data-backed champion practices to amended the well-being of those who unrecorded and enactment astatine authorities prisons."

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Construction is ongoing to implicit the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. (CDCR)

Crews enactment to wide the country wherever the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center is being built. (CDCR)

The San Quentin State Prison antecedently housed notorious criminals specified arsenic Charles Manson and Scott Peterson. As portion of the program to make the rehabilitation center, the situation was downgraded from maximum-security to minimum security.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Newsom's bureau and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for comment.