The Pelican Bay Hunger Strike is clearly starting strong as more units in Pelican Bay and other prisons are joining.
On the first day, 43 food trays were refused (out of 52) in Pod D1 of Pelican Bay SHU. The nine prisoners who have not refused to eat are much older and already have serious health concerns. The prisoners also said that other units had similar numbers of nearly 100% participation.
On the second day of the hunger strike, the action spreads throughout Pelican Bay SHU into General Population (GP).
The strike has also spread to Corcoran and Folsom State Prisons, where more than 100 prisoners have joined the hunger strike in solidarity with the demands at Pelican Bay.
After releasing the “4th of July Menu” to persuade prisoners from striking, the CDCR has told the LA Times that less than 24 prisoners are on strike, which is simply untrue.
One prisoner informed us: “In Tehachapi SHU in 2007 me and six other guys did a hunger strike. Staff flipped out. When we went to the yard they placed lunches in our cells and photographed it. They rigged scales between weigh-ins. And they used my medical, chronic-care issues to say that not eating was akin to “suicidal behavior” and placed me on suicide watch.” [Suicide watch involves isolation and deprivation--and can be used as a method of punishment.]
These tactics demonstrate the CDCR is scared that this hunger strike is powerful and growing, and is not taking the prisoners demands seriously.
Please, take a few minutes to call the CDCR and the warden and urge them to honor the prisoners’ demands!
Thank you for posting this update. Please let the inmates know that they have support on the East coast as well. Solidarity in Struggle, Sophie.
In Solidarity and Support, Prison Watch Network of blogs.
Inmates at Centinela State prison have been on a hunger strike since Friday. The only inmates that are eating are ones with medical issues.
As of late Friday, I heard that at Kern Valley there were 275 southerns from A yard participating. Other prisons with participants include CCI (where phones were cut off to limit outside information) and at RJ Donovan.
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i know of many southerns at Kern Valley in B yard as well as A yard are participating since Friday and been on lock down the 2 months prior this starting and were unable to go to canteen and are on lock down currently. i was told that they had taken the “black” race off lock down just because the guards did not want to do work. and now the guards are not even asking if they want to eat, they are not unlocking the try slots….so if they werent on a hunger strike they still could eat. there trash is piling up because they are not able to throw garbage.
It is a sad state of affairs in the United States when any human beings or citizens have to go on hunger strikes in desperate attempt to call attention to gross human rights violations and abuse. Regardless of what crime prisoners were convicted of (whether innocent or guilty), can’t we at least treat them with politeness as much as possible and make sure their food is adequate and their medical care is decent and prompt? How else can we call ourselves civilized or humane?
looking for the complaint that was sent tp the gov.
We should try to help this guys to be treated like humans i want to sent a complain but im not sure where to?