The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has rejected a group of petitions from several people in San Quentin State Prison.
In July, 42 incarcerated men filed individual petitions for release alleging that the agency violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
In a rare move last week, a Marin County Superior Court judge grouped these petitions into one case and ordered CDCR to issue a response.
The agency rejected the petitions arguing that those incarcerated did not go through proper channels to file grievances with prison staff and failed to provide enough evidence to demonstrate that officials acted indifferently.
Charles Carbone, an attorney representing 20 of the petitioners disagrees. “The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “The proof is in the 22 people that died these preventable deaths.” As of August 4, San Quentin reported 2,210 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 deaths.