One state is ‘prioritizing the criminals’ over residents with $239 million taxpayer-funded prison project

A California prosecutor is accusing his state of “prioritizing the criminals” over a $239 million taxpayer-funded prison project.

Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom are celebrating the building of a rehabilitation center at the San Quentin State Prison, which will reportedly have “luxury amenities such as a grocery store, library, café, farmer’s market and more,” according to Fox News. While $360 million was originally allotted for the project, the total expense with cost the taxpayers much less, at $239 million.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation described the new rehab building as part of the “California model,” which is described as a “holistic initiative that leverages international, data-backed best practices to improve the well-being of those who live and work at state prisons.”

Newsom believes the project will “make all of us safer.”

“California is transforming San Quentin – our state’s most notorious prison – into the nation’s most innovative rehabilitation facility focused on building a brighter and safer future. We are literally tearing down walls to reimagine our prison system, incentivize true rehabilitation, and end cycles of violence and crime,” he said.

But Los Angeles County prosecutor Jonathan Hatami is looking at the larger picture.

“The first problem I have, though, with this situation is the cost. In California, we can’t fund our homeless programs. We can’t fund Medi-Cal or Medicaid. We can’t fund officers,” he pointed out. “And so we can’t fund so many programs that are important to people here in California.”

“It appears that we’re prioritizing the criminals over the rest of us,” Hatami explained. “And that’s a big problem I have, is the priorities of this state seem to be, most of the time, tilted towards the criminal instead of looking at the rest of California and saying there’s so many other things that we should be funding that we can.”

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Todd Javernick spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle to defend the project.

“The holistic initiative leverages international, data-backed best practices to improve the well-being of those who live and work at state prisons,” he said.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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