Audit faults plans on new death row

The state could have found cheaper alternatives to building a new death row at San Quentin State Prison, a project now expected to cost far more than anticipated, State Auditor Elaine M. Howle reported Tuesday. But it is too late to change course without spending even more money, she said.

The audit released Tuesday was the second of a two-part study. Last month, Howle reported that the facility for condemned male inmates, approved for $220 million five years ago, is now expected to cost more than $395 million because of delays, increases in construction costs and design changes. In addition, she said the state would now build only 768 cells instead of the 1,024 first planned. Construction has not yet begun.

Howle said the state never seriously examined other alternatives. She looked at changing the project design, moving to an alternative site at San Quentin, spreading death row inmates among different prisons, or building the facility at three other prisons. Those sites would have been less expensive initially; building at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility outside San Diego would have cost almost $50 million less, Howle said. But switching now probably would delay the project for five years, costing up to $400 million more than the current plan.