New Calif. Death Row Costs Could Soar 80 Percent

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — A proposed new death row facility at San Quentin State Prison could cost $395 million to build and be filled within three years, according to a recent state audit.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates it will cost $356 million — 62 percent more than the $220 million state lawmakers authorized in 2003 — to build the complex, which has been downsized by 256 cells.

Despite the 25 percent reduction in capacity, the cost per cell has more than doubled to $515,000 since 2003 and the California Bureau of State Audits’ report estimates that project costs will reach almost $400 million before construction is complete — 80 percent more than original estimates.

The report concludes the CDCR’s most recent cost estimate does not apply realistic escalation rates and does not anticipate further project delays.

CDCR estimates do not include facility activation costs of more than $7 million and average operational costs of $58.8 million per year, according to the report.

Condemned inmate facilities at San Quentin, which dates to the 1880s, are dilapidated and outmoded, officials say.

The Bureau of State Audits estimates the total cost for design, construction, activation and operation of the new complex during the next 20 years at approximately $1.2 billion.

The ballooning cost of the project is due to the rising cost of construction materials, design changes, environmental impact challenges, and unforeseen costs associated with the mitigation of soil problems, says State Auditor Elaine M. Howle.

The CDCR modified the original project plans several times since 2003 to achieve economies and minimize costs. The revised plan, which reconfigured buildings from two stories to four stories, cut the number of housing units from eight to six and reduced capacity from 1,024 to 768 cells.

Inmates could be double-bunked in order to increase capacity at the proposed facility.

The CDCR does not currently double bunk condemned inmates, officials say, and the report raises concerns about the potential for double-bunking to jeopardize inmate confidentiality — capital case files are often kept in cells — and increase the risk for inmate-on-inmate violence.

As of April 2008, San Quentin housed 635 condemned male inmates with an average of 12 newly condemned inmates sent to death row every year.

If double-celling of condemned inmates occurs as planned, the 1,152-inmate capacity of the proposed complex will be reached by 2035, according to the report. However, if the plan to double-cell inmates is not feasible, the complex will reach capacity by 2014, less than three years after it is expected to open.

Condemned inmates exercise on the roof of San Quentin’s North Seg unit.

The audit suggests appropriating an additional $64 million to increase the number of beds to 1,024 as initially planned, which would meet projected capacity demands through 2028 without the need for double-bunking.

Postponing the start of construction beyond November could add about $2 million per month, officials say.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized $136 million in lease revenue bonds for the project, and state lawmakers are discussing a CDCR capital outlay budget change proposal for the new complex for fiscal year 2008–09, officials say.

In 2007, the CDCR completed construction of a new $850,000 lethal injection chamber as part of the state’s plan to address problems with the existing antiquated execution facility at San Quentin and lethal injection protocols.

Executions have been on hold in California for several years since U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel blocked the state from using San Quentin’s converted gas chamber, which was built in 1938. The new chamber is designed to meet legal guidelines for more space for the lethal injection chamber team and for victims’ families attending executions.