Mark Martin. “Deukmejian to lead prison review panel; Schwarzenegger asks him to recommend closures,”
The San Francisco Chronicle, March 6, 2004

Former Gov. George Deukmejian, who launched California 's unprecedented prison system expansion, will head a commission charged with reforming corrections policies and recommending prison closures.

Deukmejian will lead a group that is expected to make numerous recommendations to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fix problems in both the state's adult prisons and the Youth Authority, Schwarzenegger announced Friday. Included in the group is Joseph Gunn, a co-chairman of a panel that reviewed the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the Rampart police corruption scandal.

In a conference call with reporters, Gunn and two other consultants who will work with Deukmejian said one of the first tasks is to give Schwarzenegger a report within 60 days on proposed prison closings, including what to do with San Quentin State Prison in Marin County . The prison, home of the state's Death Row, has been the subject of years of debate concerning whether to rehabilitate the dilapidated building or tear it down and use the property overlooking San Francisco Bay for housing.

California 's corrections departments have been rocked by criticism this year, and the state is facing legal trouble for problems at Pelican Bay State Prison and the Youth Authority.

Legislative hearings in January highlighted a "code of silence" within prisons that discourages employees from reporting wrongdoing, and in addition, the state's $5 billion corrections department overspent its budget by nearly $500 million this fiscal year.

"It has been too long since our correctional system has undergone a fundamental review of its operations," Schwarzenegger said in introducing Deukmejian's new job. "The mission of this inquiry team is to chart a course of action to turn around the crisis of confidence in California 's correctional system."

Gunn said the panel will look at everything from corrections' financial problems to the code of silence before making suggestions.

Schwarzenegger officials said Deukmejian was a prime candidate to lead the review because of his wide knowledge of correctional issues.

But state prison critics reacted with chagrin, noting the tough-on-crime governor of the 1980s launched a prison building spree that eventually saw the state build 21 prisons in the last 24 years.

"This is the man who oversaw the biggest prison-building boom in history," said Rose Braz, executive director of the Oakland-based prison reform group Critical Resistance.

California now runs one of the largest penal systems in the world, but projections indicate a large inmate population drop this year, and some hope the state can save money by shuttering correctional facilities.

"(Deukmejian) does have a reputation for being financially responsible. We can be tough on crime, but we also have to be smart on crime," said state Sen. Gloria Romero, D- Los Angeles , chairwoman of a Senate corrections committee.E-mail Mark Martin at markmartin@sfchronicle.com .