California governor proposes closing 2 prisons in response to COVID-19

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing that the state close two prisons, in part due to a decline in tax revenue amid the pandemic.
• Over 500 California prisoners currently have COVID-19. At least five have died.
• "As we have seen, jails and prisons have become petri dishes for this pandemic," state Rep. Sydney Kamlager, a Democrat from Los Angeles, told Business Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Left-leaning activists for social justice do not, typically, have kind words for austerity, which brings to mind shuttered schools and trimmed welfare rolls. But when California Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined plans this week to slash the state's budget, citing a freefall in tax revenue due to the pandemic, there was qualified praise from some over his decision to cut funding for prisons.

California currently has over 117,000 people in its prisons, more than any other state except for Texas. But the number of incarcerated persons has been falling  — by 8% just this year — and that, the product of reduced sentences for drug crimes and efforts to address overcrowding, has meant the state is in a position to begin closing some of its prisons.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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