Condemned San Quentin Man’s Death Probed

SAN QUENTIN, CA — A condemned San Quentin inmate died at an outside hospital earlier this week, authorities said.

Joshua M. Miracle was pronounced dead Sunday at 7:04 p.m. while being treated at an outside hospital, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.

His cause of death is under investigation and will be determined by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division, the CDCR said.

Miracle, 43, was sentenced to death in Santa Barbara County on Jan. 24, 2006, for first-degree murder with personal use of a dangerous or deadly weapon and an enhancement for committing a street gang act, according to the CDCR.

Miracle had been on California’s death row since Feb. 1, 2006.

Last month, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said the agency had begun the process of phasing out death row at San Quentin.

In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order placing a moratorium on the death penalty, calling the punishment a "failure" that "has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, Black and brown, or can't afford expensive legal representation."

— Bay City News contributed to this report