BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Governor Newsom has been pushing a New California Model in state prisons since April 2023, and one of the changes is with the language.
Through a public records request, 17 News received documentation on the language change, like the change from “inmate” to “incarcerated persons,” and “parolee” to “supervised persons.”
As part of Gov. Newsom’s criminal justice reform, the language of the state has changed to be more sensitive to incarcerated people in California institutions.
Multiple changes were made, but the most interesting involves incarcerated and supervised persons.
If you’re in one of California’s prisons, you’re no longer an “inmate,” and if you got out on “parole,” well, that’s changed too. In a recent press release, it describes a man dying at Kern Valley State Prison. In it, officials label him as an “incarcerated person.”
The state has also made other changes to language for incarcerated people.
- Probationer becomes person on probation
- Lifer to life sentence
- Non-prisoner or non-inmate to non-incarcerated person
At Garden Pathways, a non-profit dedicated to integrating former incarcerated persons back into society, most think this is a welcome change to the stigma behind language like “inmate,” “probationer,” and “parolee.”
“It’s hard to come out from a label, and if feel you’re not being labeled, hey you’re a person. It builds a different identity,” said Ritchie Golde a facilitator in training.
Golde was formerly incarcerated in 1984 for second-degree murder, joining Garden Pathways when he was released.
“You’re regulated to a number or these names, inmate, inmates get over here, hey you inmate, it’s like I forfeited my identity to be called a inmate,” said Golde.
Another formerly incarcerated person, Angelina Ibarra, feels differently.
“I didn’t look at myself as an inmate, I didn’t look at myself as incarcerated. I knew I was in jail and I knew I had to do a program to get out, I didn’t really focus on the title I guess.”
You want to read the full list of language changes in the document below:
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