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| The media driving strike at Pelican Bay? |
| By triplicate.com - Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate |
| Published: 07/21/2011 |
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At Pelican Bay, 75 inmates still fasting Prisoners on a hunger strike at Pelican Bay State Prison and others across California have gained the attention of prison staff and the national media. The hunger strike has entered its third week and though the number of participants has dropped significantly from its 6,600 peak, there were still 440 inmates in four prisons fasting Tuesday. In the Security Housing Unit at Pelican Bay, there were 75. “I know that we’ve had individuals on longer strikes,” said Oscar Hidalgo, a spokesperson for California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “I don’t recall in the last five years any group activity that has been of this magnitude.” The number of inmates participating has forced the prisons to increase medical staff hours to monitor them. There have been no significant health incidents, said Nancy Kincaid, spokesperson for the California Prison Health Care Services. Two recent deaths at Calipatria State Prison were inmates unrelated to the strike, she said. So far, inmates haven’t suffered weight loss expected of a person fasting for almost two and a half weeks, Kincaid said. Seven inmates in Pelican Bay that have lost more than 10 pounds, Kincaid said. Forty-four others have lost less than 10 pounds, which doctors consider water weight, she said. “You would expect a higher weight loss for two weeks of not eating,” said Kincaid. The most weight lost was 29 pounds by an inmate at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi. The third week is a crucial point of starvation because that is typically when physical symptoms develop, including vision problems and dizziness, Kincaid said. Inmates are demanding better food, elimination of group punishment, an end to long-term solitary confinement and an expansion of programs and privileges for inmates who are in the SHU indefinitely. They are also demanding a change in the “debriefing process” to get out of the SHU. Numerous prison advocacy blogs have publicized the strike, along with several news media outlets across the nation. Read More. |
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