by Arthur Williams, III, Pelican Bay State Prison
Editors Note: In October 2025, we received this powerful comic from artist Arthur Williams III, who is currently incarcerated at Pelican Bay State Prison. Given the recent completion of the new $239 million dollar facility at San Quentin prison, this is particularly relevant for publication right now. Improved access to educational facilities, re-entry programming, and partnerships with local universities will make a big difference in the chances for rehabilitation, but we strongly agree with the artist that every single person imprisoned by the state should have access to quality programming and rehabilitation opportunities. Mei Lia Sommer, LSPC’s Director of Finance & Operations, emphasized “I think it’s all for show to get more money and votes. I speak with a lot of the men incarcerated at that prison, the people I speak to feel the same way. They are happy because it may help them when they want to parole or get a commutation. But the CO’s are still dirty, things happen and are taken without reason and while it may look better to the outside… a lot of the corruption is still the same.” San Quentin is still a prison, and an attempt to improve its conditions without addressing the underlying systemic problem of corruption, fueling mass incarceration, is not enough.
I did a layover at San Quentin on my way to Pelican Bay. It was my first sight of a prison besides reception. When I got off the bus, waiting to be processed, I thought prison isn’t so bad. I saw men working out, playing catch, another karate chopping a weight bag. All walks of life co-habitating in brotherly love. With a gentle melody being strummed off an acoustic, blowing through the yard, in the wind. I dreamed of countless ways I could improve myself and learn a different way to live life.
Down in the holding cells, dying of hunger from an eight hour bus ride. Food carts suddenly emerged from the desolate hallway. Our stomachs grumbled, it was mexican night. All our trays had food— three to four pounds of food.
Then I came to Pelican Bay. I didn’t know its history, nor its reputation. I felt like Esau, cheated. Onions, some cheese, yogurt with a milk that was ready to sour. That was my first meal. I’ll never forget it, couldn’t if I tried. It’s a recurring meal in every prison. Besides San Quentin, prison resembles third world nations. Programs show scratched DVDs, if the player chooses to work. Five computers with a class of twenty eight. Every month more inmates arrive, and our meal portions get that much smaller. As is the case in every prison, besides San Quentin. ✦
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