September 2nd Update A third young man, Joseph Daniel Maldonado, 18, from Sacramento, died at the California Youth Authority's brutal Chaderjian facility on Wednesday, August 31st. Officials reported that he had committed suicide by hanging.

August 23rd: Books not Bars reported today that on September 26th - just 35 days from today - the new head of California’s eight youth prisons may close the most brutal facility: Chad. The CYA's new director, Chief Warner, ordered his staff to stop accepting new youth at the Chad youth prison. The facility's high school lost its accreditation this year. BnB is asking for people's help to ensure that Chad is closed. Read more

September 5th was the one-year anniversary of the death of Dyron Brewer in the CYA's Chad prison for youth. A mass memorial and march were held in Stockton on Monday, September 5th, from 12pm to 3pm, to honor Dyron's life. The cause of Dyron's death is unknown, but he was the fourth prisoner to die in the CYA system last year. Durrell Feaster, Dion Whitfield, and Roberto Lombana also lost their lives inside CYA’s youth prisons in 2004.

Books Not Bars says, "We are joining together to make sure these young lives are not lost in vain.... It’s time to close the CYA’s youth prisons and build a new system of rehabilitation and support – a system these young people deserved but never received." No More Lost Lives was a day of music, poetry, speeches, honoring, and prayer. Read more

Books Not Bars Campaign