California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

FILE - In this April 28, 2020 file photo State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama, left discusses the impact the coronavirus is having on rural residents and businesses during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. California on Saturday is increasing early release credits for tens of thousands of inmates including violent and repeat felons as it further trims the population of what once was the nation's largest state correctional system. More than 63,000 inmates convicted of violent crimes will be eligible for good behavior credits that shorten their sentences by one-third instead of the one-fifth that had been in place since 2017. Nielsen, who once headed the state parole board, criticized Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for this time acting unilaterally. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File)

76K California violent, career felons get earlier releases

By Don Thompson Apr. 30, 2021 10:04 PM EDT

FILE - This Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 file photo shows a BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 test made by Abbott Laboratories, in Tacoma, Wash. On Wednesday, March 31, 2021, the FDA said Abbott’s BinaxNow and Quidel’s QuickVue tests can now be sold without a prescription for consumers to test themselves repeatedly at home. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The Latest: FDA authorizes 2 changes to Moderna’s vaccine

By The Associated Press Apr. 01, 2021 04:04 AM EDT

This undated photo posted on social media and provided by the Ruiz Family shows Daniel Ruiz. The family of Ruiz, a 61-year-old California inmate who died of the coronavirus, sued state corrections officials Tuesday, March 16, 2021. The family blames a botched transfer of infected inmates to San Quentin State Prison that killed 28 inmates and a correctional officer in 2020. (Angel Ruiz Corona/Courtesy of Ruiz Family via AP)

Inmate lawsuits blame California for spreading infections

By Don Thompson Mar. 16, 2021 09:08 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 9, 2020, file photo, a correctional officer closes the main gate at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. Prison guards are refusing coronavirus vaccines at alarming rates. That's causing some public health experts to worry about the prospect of controlling the pandemic both inside and outside of prison. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

US prison guards refusing vaccine despite COVID-19 outbreaks

By Nicole Lewis Of The Marshall Project And Michael R. Sisak Of The Associated Press Mar. 15, 2021 06:00 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 9, 2020, file photo, a correctional officer closes the main gate at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. California workplace safety officials announced Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, that San Quentin rocked by one of the nation's worst coronavirus outbreaks has been hit with by far its largest pandemic-related fine yet against an employer. The $421,880 fine is several times higher than any others levied by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA. Only a few others exceed $100,000 and most are a few thousand dollars. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Record virus fine hits California prison with worst outbreak

By Don Thompson Feb. 04, 2021 09:04 PM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2016, file photo, general population inmates walk in a line at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. California officials' misguided attempts to protect inmates from the coronavirus at one prison "caused a public health disaster" at another, the state inspector general said in laying out more details of the medical catastrophe Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Officials' transfer of those inmates to San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco at the end of May led to the deaths of 28 inmates and a correctional officer there while infecting 75% of inmates. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Official: Inmate transfer caused health disaster at prison

By Don Thompson Feb. 01, 2021 08:00 PM EST

FILE — In this April 9, 2008, file photo, a wheelchair-bound inmate wheels himself through a checkpoint at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, Calif. Attorneys representing California inmates are urging state officials and a federal judge to advance one of every 10 prisoner to the front of the line for coronavirus vaccinations, saying it would help ease the burden on hospitals while helping control outbreaks inside state lockups. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

California urged to move inmates to front of vaccine line

By Don Thompson Jan. 15, 2021 01:54 AM EST

Virus vaccinations begin at California prison medical site

Dec. 23, 2020 11:40 AM EST
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Vaccinations against COVID-19 have begun at a California prison facility for inmates with special medical needs, the Los Angeles Times...

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2016, file photo, a condemned inmate walks along the east block of death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency confirmed Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that California has sent about $400 million in unemployment benefits to state prison inmates. In all records show 31,000 inmates have applied for benefits and about 20,800 were paid $400 million. A group of local and federal prosecutors said 133 inmates on death row were named in claims. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

California paid $400 million in jobless benefits to inmates

By Adam Beam Dec. 01, 2020 08:02 PM EST

California prison closings could save more than $1 billion

Nov. 19, 2020 10:32 PM EST
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, which has a declining prison population, could save more than $1 billion by closing eight lockups, the Legislative...

FILE - This May 11, 2018 photo from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Scott Peterson. A California judge will decide on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, if Peterson should be retried in the slayings of his pregnant wife and unborn child. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP,File)

Scott Peterson to stay at San Quentin as judge mulls retrial

By Don Thompson Nov. 13, 2020 03:29 PM EST

79th California prison inmate dies of COVID-19 complications

Nov. 01, 2020 02:31 PM EST
AVENAL, Calif. (AP) — An inmate at a central California prison died of complications from the coronavirus Saturday, authorities said, becoming the state's 79th...

FILE - In this July 9, 2020, file photo, a correctional officer closes the main gate at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. California prison officials did a poor job requiring inmates and staff to wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and even "perplexingly loosened" their policy just as cases were spiking, the state's inspector general said Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Inspector says lax prison enforcement increased virus risk

By Don Thompson Oct. 26, 2020 08:17 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 9, 2020, file photo, people hold up a banner while listening to a news conference outside San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. The group of legislators, advocates, academics and public health officials gathered outside San Quentin State Prison to discuss a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility that has sickened more than 1,400 inmates with six deaths. A California appeals court has ordered state corrections officials to cut the population of one of the world's most famous prisons to less than half of its designed capacity, citing officials' "deliberate indifference" to the plight of inmates during the coronavirus pandemic. State prison officials said Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, that they are deciding whether to appeal the order, which otherwise will force them to parole or transfer about 1,100 inmates serving time in San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Court orders California to cut San Quentin inmates by half

By Don Thompson Oct. 21, 2020 05:06 PM EDT

2 prisoners die of virus complications; school quarantines

Sep. 26, 2020 06:15 PM EDT
Two prisoners have died at hospitals of coronavirus-related complications, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported Saturday. ...