Eric “E” William Warner
Family photograph, obtained from the memorial and fundraiser for Eric’s funeral.
Memorial for Eric William Warner
By his loved ones
On Saturday July 25th, 2020 Eric William Warner became another tragic victim to the COVID-19 outbreak behind America’s prison walls. Family, friends and those who know Eric are saddened by his passing. Eric, as friends called him “E” , was born and raised in San Francisco. He grew up in the Excelsior district of San Francisco and attended Balboa High school. Eric loved riding dirt bikes and motocross. He was also a golden glove boxer. Eric loved dogs his whole life. His trade was in dry cleaning where he worked many years.
Friends who know E from behind the walls of San Quentin say that he was a very kind, caring and generous person. He was a spiritual person, who would often read his devotion every morning, which could be seen displayed in his practical day to day life. He would go out of his way to help others and would not turn down anyone who needed help. He was part of the native Hawaiian Spiritual Group/Dancers and the AAPI Ethnic Studies Group SQ R.O.O.T.S.
Photograph of a performance by Eric’s native Hawaiian Spiritual Group, obtained from the memorial and fundraiser for Eric’s funeral.
Spending years behind walls, E understood the hardship it had on families and relationships. Despite the harsh conditions of incarceration, E would continue to write letters of hope and encouragement to his step daughter providing her with insight and pearls of wisdom on life. To his brother, Hank who E was very close with, E would dream of one day traveling the world with him to see the great natural wonders and connect with people.
Eric will always be remembered by friends and family as a kind and warm hearted person. He was loved by so many and especially those who knew him best.
Eric William Warner is survived by step daughter Shanti, brother Hank, niece Chloe, nephew William and aunts Norma, Juliet and Concha.
Photograph of Eric with family, obtained from the memorial and fundraiser for Eric’s funeral.
The San Quentin Outbreak
COVID-19 has spread widely behind the walls of San Quentin. San Quentin, like many prisons in California, is ill equipped to handle a pandemic, especially due to the prison’s unsanitary conditions, lack of medical resources, and overcrowdedness.
Before May 31, there were no positive COVID-19 cases at San Quentin. On May 31, 121 people were transferred to San Quentin from CIM, a facility in Chino, California where a deadly COVID-19 outbreak occurred. On the same day of the transfer, CDCR had confirmed the first positive case of COVID-19 at San Quentin—in the following weeks hundreds of cases sprung up.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as of July 20, amongst those incarcerated at San Quentin there have been 2,089 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 13 people have already died from COVID-19.
Photograph of Eric, obtained from the memorial and fundraiser for Eric’s funeral.
This memorial is reproduced from a memorial page and fundraiser to cover Eric’s funeral expenses, organized by Eric’s friend Danny Thongsy. We thank his loved ones for permitting us to reproduce it here.
Secret Ocean
A film collaboration by Adamu Chan and Sarah Kim
From the artists:
“Secret Ocean" is a collaboration between Sarah Kim, a dancer, and Adamu Chan, a writer and filmmaker incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. This piece was conceptualized and produced during the nation’s largest COVID-19 outbreak that has claimed 26 lives and affected over 2200 people at California’s oldest prison, San Quentin State Prison. “Secret Ocean” is a meditation on remembrance, boundlessness, and the power of bridging the world of the imaginary with reality, the inside with the outside.
The work continues. COVID-19 has only highlighted the pre-existing inhumanity of prison life. Please visit the following to better understand how to create a world that invests in rehabilitation and care over punishment:
Ella Baker Center: https://ellabakercenter.org/
Re:Store Justice: https://restorecal.org/
Prison Renaissance Zine: prisonrenaissance.org/
This video memorial was submitted to MOL on behalf of Adamu Chan, Eric’s friend and a writer and filmmaker incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Adamu dedicates this piece “in honor of those who perished during this time.”
From Mourning Our Losses:
Eric William Warner, known as “E” to his friends, was 57 years old when he passed away from COVID-19 in July 2020. A cherished brother, stepfather, and friend, Eric is missed dearly.
Eric valued family. After his fiancee passed away, he considered her daughter, Shanti, as his step daughter. He looked after Shanti through his constant letters of hope and wisdom. Every Sunday, Eric made sure he spoke to his brother, Hank. On the phone, Eric frequently talked about travelling together. His dream was to see the world and simply “connect with people.”
Eric’s legacy lies in the many friends who say they owe him their lives and freedom. In an interview, Chanthon Bun, Eric’s former cellie, says Eric saved his life. “I got into a fight with my first cellie and Eric said, ‘you’re not going to survive like that. You’re going to make matters worse... you're going to go to [the Parole] Board one day, so you don't want anything else on your record.’” Eric then asked Bun if he wanted the empty bunk next to his own. Eric’s care and resilience within the harsh conditions of incarceration led Bun to “start [his] journey to rehabilitation” and created a close friendship that lasted until Eric’s passing.
Eric’s friend, Bun, remembers him at MOL’s vigil to mark one year of losses behind bars.
Eric “went out of his way to help others and would not turn down anyone who needed help,” Bun reports. He gave haircuts to people at San Quentin. He studied the law, and helped numerous residents research their appeals, earning him the nickname “legal beagle.” For those who knew him, as his friend Adamu Chan puts it, Eric's loss is extraordinarily “difficult to handle.”
Eric’s brother Hank, who built a close relationship with Eric during his incarceration, has drawn strength from the many calls he has received from Eric’s friends, and a memorial ceremony they organized in his memory.
“One by one, each person told me what Eric meant to them; how he helped them survive in prison and prepared them to get out,” Hank said, in a tribute published by KQED.
“Then it hit me – my brother helped so many men reach freedom – in every sense. It was like they owed their lives to him. This blew my mind!”
Eric with his brother Hank Warner, obtained from KQED.
Eric’s memory will remain a blessing to those who knew him. We stand with his many loved ones in mourning his loss.
This part of the memorial was written by MOL team member Melissa Kornfeld, and updated by MOL team member Kirsten Pickering, using reporting by Pendarvais Harshaw of KQED News, Jacey Fourtin of the New York Times, Rebecca Griesbach and Timothy Williams of the New York Times, and information obtained from a memorial page and fundraiser organized by Eric’s friend, Danny Thongsy, and a tribute to Eric by Hank Warner on KQED.
