'I want to be remembered.' Death row inmate auctions his San Quentin journals, art for $80,000

SAN FRANCISCO — In aboriginal 2020, Albert Jones was sitting successful his compartment connected San Quentin’s decease row, arsenic helium had each time for astir 3 decades, erstwhile reports of a mysterious respiratory unwellness started to circulate.

In the pursuing months, hundreds of decease enactment inmates fell sick arsenic COVID-19 swept done San Quentin State Prison‘s eastbound block, the crowded warren of factual and robust cells, stacked 5 stories high, that for decades housed galore of California’s astir notorious criminals. By the extremity of August 2020, much than 2,200 prisoners and 270 unit members astatine San Quentin had fallen ill. One serviceman and 28 inmates died from their illness, including astatine slightest a twelve condemned men.

Through it all, Jones kept elaborate journals chronicling his anxiousness implicit catching the “killer virus.” And erstwhile helium did declaration COVID, helium recounted his agonizing recovery.

“I Survived COVID-19” is 1 of respective books that inmate Albert Jones has self-published during his years connected decease row.

(Courtesy of Albert Jones)

“The satellite is connected lock-down. This authorities is connected afloat fastener down,” Jones wrote astatine the commencement of the pandemic. (The entries quoted successful this nonfiction look with the punctuation and spelling utilized successful the journals.) “This illness is spreading truthful accelerated radical don’t cognize what to bash truthful staying successful their location is each they tin bash and ticker T.V. similar me.”

“Scott was my adjacent doorway neighbour for 12 years,” Jones wrote that summer, referencing rapist and murderer Scott Thomas Erskine, who died successful July 2020 aft contracting the virus. “We had conscionable showered and the caregiver gave him his medications and past they spot however airy his tegument was and nonaccomplishment of value truthful they took his oxygen level and it was 62 truthful they took him retired of his compartment and enactment him connected oxygen and rolled him off. Three days aboriginal helium died.”

In 2023, Jones published a memoir helium titled “I Survived COVID-19,” 1 of 10 books — 2 of them collections of situation recipes — that helium has written during his years down bars.

Jones, present 60, was sentenced to decease successful 1996 for the brutal treble execution of an aged mates during a robbery successful their Mead Valley home. He has mislaid an entreaty of his conviction, but maintains his innocence and continues to enactment with his attorneys connected caller grounds for appeal.

Jones has nevertheless embraced a consciousness of intent successful prison, documenting assemblage beingness connected San Quentin’s decease enactment done penning and art. He has been held up arsenic a exemplary captive and met with Gov. Gavin Newsom past summertime erstwhile the politician was connected tract to showcase his efforts to refashion San Quentin and different authorities prisons with a much dedicated absorption connected rehabilitation.

Jones’ earnest musings are present poised to find an unexpected spotlight and acold broader audience. A Sonoma County bookseller who sees Jones’ collected works arsenic a uncommon glimpse into 1 of America’s astir notorious compartment blocks is auctioning immoderate of his penning and situation memorabilia astatine a posh New York City publication just this month. The archive volition beryllium connected show Thursday done Sunday astatine the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, an lawsuit expected to gully curators from museums and probe institutions, arsenic good arsenic backstage collectors. The asking terms is $80,000.

“There is nary different archive similar this successful existence,” said Ben Kinmont, the Sebastopol bookseller representing Jones successful the sale.

Condemned inmate Albert Jones has written 2 cookbooks, featuring recipes that tin beryllium made successful a prison-sanctioned electrical pot.

(Courtesy of Albert Jones)

Jones’ books — chronicling his pack beingness successful Compton, his spiritual travel arsenic a condemned antheral and recipes doable with a prison-sanctioned electrical cookware — marque up the bulk of the collection. But the archive besides includes idiosyncratic items, specified arsenic an aged brace of speechmaking glasses, a breached wristwatch and his “prison eye,” a portion of cardboard with a portion of reflective integrative attached to the extremity that prisoners would instrumentality done the bars of their cells to spot whether guards were coming.

In an interrogation from prison, Jones said the postulation stems from his efforts to permission a grounds of his incarceration, and a anticipation that his girl and grandchildren mightiness retrieve him arsenic thing much than a prisoner.

“I privation to beryllium remembered as, archetypal of all, a quality being that made mistakes,” Jones said. “I didn’t recognize what I was going to bash with the remainder of my life, knowing that the authorities wanted to termination me, arsenic if I wasn’t nothing.

“I bash person worth,” helium said.

California hasn’t executed a captive since 2006, and Newsom issued a moratorium connected the signifier successful 2019. Last year, Jones was transferred retired of San Quentin aft Newsom ordered situation officials to dismantle decease enactment and integrate the condemned prisoners into the wide populations astatine different authorities institutions. Jones is present housed astatine California State Prison, Sacramento.

The information that San Quentin’s decease enactment is successful effect extinct makes Jones’ enactment historically relevant, Kinmont said.

Bookseller Ben Kinmont says helium marveled astatine however Albert Jones’ archetypal cookbook included not lone recipes collected from men connected decease row, but besides directions for however to bask meals “together.”

(Hannah Wiley / Los Angeles Times)

As a bookseller who specializes successful works astir nutrient and vino written from the 15th period to aboriginal 19th century, Kinmont wasn’t precisely looking for a decease enactment lawsuit erstwhile Jones wrote him a fewer years agone looking for assistance successful selling his archetypal cookbook, “Our Last Meals?” But the transportation came astatine an opportune moment.

Kinmont was exploring the narration that radical surviving successful poorness person to nutrient and the worth of coming unneurotic for a meal. Working with Jones seemed an absorbing avenue for probing that theme.

Kinmont marveled astatine however Jones’ cookbook included not lone recipes collected from men connected decease row, but besides directions for however to bask meals “together.” His gumbo recipe, for example, calls for 2 pouches each of smoked clams, oysters and mackerel on with achromatic rice, oregano, cumin and chile peppers. Mix successful immoderate diced onions and doorbell peppers, and propulsion the substance into an electrical cookware with a sausage link. Once the crockery is ready, Jones would transportation idiosyncratic servings into integrative bags. A captive from a compartment supra would nonstop sportfishing enactment down to Jones, who would necktie up the container and nonstop it backmost up.

“These guys are asserting their humanity done trying to hole nutrient arsenic champion they can, done the attraction bundle strategy that’s disposable to them,” Kinmont said.

Kinmont yet sold the cookbook to UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library for $20,000.

Jones has utilized his clip successful situation arsenic an accidental for maturation and earned his assemblage grade down bars.

(Courtesy of Albert Jones)

Jones said helium made astir $14,000 disconnected the merchantability — a acold outcry from the occasional proceeds that trickle successful from 1 of the self-published books helium offers for $15 connected Amazon. Jones sent immoderate of the wealth to his girl and grandchildren successful Georgia, and bought caller situation garb for himself and friends. At Christmas, helium enactment unneurotic acquisition bags with hygiene products for dozens of men surviving successful his unit.

If the caller archive sells successful New York, helium hopes to usage his chopped to unfastened a spot money for his 4 grandchildren and assistance his girl bargain a house.

“I cognize I got blessed,” helium said, “so present it’s clip for maine to commencement blessing different people.”

Still, the statement raises ethical questions astir who should payment from enactment prisoners bash down bars.

Jones was convicted of hog-tying and stabbing to decease James Florville, 82, and his wife, Madalynne Florville, 72, during a 1993 location invasion. California antecedently prohibited prisoners from financially benefiting from selling their transgression stories, but successful 2002, the authorities Supreme Court struck down that law.

Still, aft The Times contacted her for remark connected this article, Terri Hardy, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the bureau had not been informed astir a declaration to merchantability Jones’ books and, arsenic a precaution, would alert the Florvilles’ household members. She cited a proviso of the authorities penal codification that requires the situation strategy to “notify registered victims oregon their families successful cases wherever an incarcerated idiosyncratic enters into a declaration to merchantability the communicative of their crime.”

In telephone interviews with The Times, members of the Florville household expressed outrage astatine the conception of Jones profiting from his situation writing.

“What makes him get the close to constitute immoderate book?” said the couple’s daughter-in-law, Mary Moore, reached astatine her location successful Southern California. “My children, their grandchildren, mislaid their grandparents. They were precise loving people. My father-in-law would person fixed you the garment disconnected his back, and truthful would person Madalynne.”

“I judge successful an oculus for an eye,” said Moore’s daughter, Rena MacNeil. “This is an ongoing happening each day. I beryllium and deliberation astir my grandparents and what they went through.”

Jones said his volition is not to get into details of his conviction, but to supply his household a written grounds of his beingness and financially enactment them.

“If they consciousness that I’m doing the incorrect happening for my grandkids, past truthful beryllium it,” Jones said. “I cognize there’s going to beryllium those critics, there’s going to beryllium those ones that accidental you shouldn’t person this, oregon you shouldn’t get this. That’s OK. Because that’s their opinion.”

Jones’ situation writings recount his puerility successful Compton, his spiritual travel arsenic a condemned antheral and decease enactment situation food, among different topics.

(Courtesy of Albert Jones)

Jones could person filed distant his writings successful a box, to beryllium shipped disconnected to his household for their backstage consumption, possibly sparing the Florville household much pain. But by making them disposable to a probe institution, Jones said, the nationalist mightiness get a amended knowing of California’s decease row, including however prisoners built community, practiced religion, adjacent grieved.

In 1 diary entry, Jones reflects connected quality that 1 of his friends died by termination aft a stint successful solitary confinement: “He was successful a compartment for 14 days arsenic punishment for whatever, but you’re expected to get 10 days successful that cell. On the fourteenth day, helium killed himself,” Jones wrote. “I don’t cognize if you tin spell to eden if you killed yourself, but I commune that helium made it and that his household is astatine rest. God bless.”

Diego Godoy, subordinate curator of the California and Hispanic collections astatine the Huntington Library successful San Marino, said the archive could beryllium utile for scholars for galore reasons, including to amended recognize situation culture.

“It’s portion of history. It’s portion of the quality experience,” Godoy said. “And I deliberation it’s worthy preserving worldly similar this and having it disposable for radical to consult.”

In mentation for his New York trip, Kinmont spent a caller day packing up boxes with Jones’ work. The materials seemed wildly retired of spot successful Kinmont’s office, wherever hundreds of antique books lined towering shelves.

Three years ago, Kinmont helped coordinate the $2-million merchantability of an historical vino publication postulation to a vino institution tally by Prince Robert of Luxembourg. He erstwhile acquired the manuscript for a cookbook written by a pistillate who survived the Holocaust and collected recipes portion surviving successful a attraction camp. Yet moving with Jones connected his archive, Kinmont said, has been “the astir profound acquisition of my nonrecreational life.”

“I’m not saying Albert’s a saint,” says Ben Kinmont, the bookseller auctioning Jones’ situation archive. “But I volition accidental that helium has accomplished thing which very, precise fewer radical have.”

(Hannah Wiley / Los Angeles Times)

His anticipation is that Jones’ archive mightiness amusement the satellite what benignant of artistry and quality transportation is imaginable successful a spot designed to crush creativity and, ultimately, execute people.

“I’m not saying Albert’s a saint. I’m not successful a presumption to accidental that,” Kinmont said. “But I volition accidental that helium has accomplished thing which very, precise fewer radical have.”

As for Jones, he’s already diving into his adjacent project, a publication astir his situation transportation retired of San Quentin. He plans to rubric it: “Free astatine Last, escaped astatine Last. But I’m Still Condemned.”