Protesters Chained to Governor’s Home as Prison Deaths Mount

This Oct. 31, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows San Quentin death row inmate Johnny Avila Jr. The CDCR announced that Avila, 62, was pronounced dead Sunday, July 26, 2020, at an outside hospital from what appears to be complications related to COVID-19. An exact cause of death will be determined by the coroner. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Demonstrators chaining themselves to a fence outside Gov. Gavin Newsom’s home called for mass prison releases and an end to immigration transfers because of the coronavirus pandemic.

[RELATED: Death row inmate may have died from coronavirus]

Monday’s protest came as deaths mounted at a San Francisco Bay Area prison where another condemned inmate died over the weekend.

The California Highway Patrol cut the chains linking protesters to the gate of Newsom’s residence in suburban Sacramento after about two hours.

Also, on Monday more than 100 University of California, San Francisco doctors were among 750 people signing a statement delivered to Newsom calling for more prison releases.

Newsom says such mass releases would risk leaving thousands of parolees homeless.