by TChris

The dilapidated condition of San Quentin's death row is sparking renewed debate about the death penalty in California.

The current death row consists of 629 inmates housed in three ramshackle brick-and-stone buildings, two of them dating to 1934 and 1927. The 1927 building looks like something out of a Jimmy Cagney movie, with five tiers of cells with open bars, and catwalks that run right up close to the cells, and lots of blind corners.

Prison officials want to build a modern, secure complex at San Quentin, but many local residents "believe the new death row building will be a brightly lit eyesore that some say resembles a concentration camp." Others question the need to spend $220 million to house inmates on death row when the state has executed only ten people since 1977. And some ask whether the death penalty should remain an option in California.

Recently, a coalition of California prosecutors and defense attorneys called for a moratorium on the death penalty while an inquiry is held on whether the system is fair. Prison officials say the politics of capital punishment are outside their scope.

Construction is expected to start next year.