CDCR History
CDCR California prison history explores the stories of the people, places and programs that shaped the current state penal system. Within the CDCR History category, there are two sub-categories. The Unlocking History series uses extensive research culled from historical records while CDCR Time Capsule republishes historical documents as originally written.
This year marks 80 years of reform, evolving into today's CDCR. Throughout 2024, Inside CDCR will look at landmark moments...
After California passed the parole law in 1893, the first four people earned parole: Henry Haas, James Capell, Thomas Garity,...
Read More About 1893: Meet the first four people to earn parole
The world was forever changed after the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said,...
While researching Unlocking History, stories can emerge from faded memos such as the California Men's Colony (CMC) great cat caper...
Since the 1860s, Thanksgiving has been observed in prison thanks to the efforts of early staff and volunteers. The first...
From California's early days, even before statehood, military veterans have shaped what would become today's prison system.
Read More About Military veterans helped shape prison system
A Del Norte case dating to 1913 had an impact on generations to follow, including the Taggart family who still...
For October 2023’s final Cemetery Tales, we unrolled the list and dropped to the last names of those buried at...
An unanswered complaint about food quality ended with the shooting death of a hospital superintendent in 1916. The man responsible...
A man linked to 11 disappearances or deaths, but only convicted of forgery, leads us to the strange tale of...