Lee Skeptical of California’s Use of Scandinavian Model to Revamp Prisons

Assistant Director for Academic Support Services at Kasteel Well Chester Lee is quoted in the The Architect’s Newspaper in an article about how California is looking to change its prisons with help from a Danish architecture practice.

Lee is based at Kasteel Well in The Netherlands and lectured at California’s San Quentin Prison in April 2025. He compared the Californian penal system to the Scandinavian penal system.

“We have a system focused on social inclusion,” Lee said at the April lecture. “We believe in mercy and compassion.” Lee noted that Scandinavian prisoners are still able to vote and raise their children, unlike California’s incarcerated population. “Our corrections officers graduate from universities before going into corrections,” he elaborated.