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| Strike at Md. State Prison Might Be Nearing End |
| By Baltimore Sun |
| Published: 07/27/2001 |
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About half the striking inmates at the Maryland House of Correction left their cells for breakfast Thursday morning - a sign that the protest against a new smoking ban and other prison conditions might be nearing an end, prison officials said. After nearly three days of eating bag lunches three times daily, 600 of the prison's 1,200 inmates turned out for a hot breakfast of bacon and eggs. Inmates at the maximum-security lockup in Jessup have refused to leave their cells and go to jobs at prison factories since Monday - a work stoppage that authorities estimate has cost the state $50,000 a day in lost production. But signs that tensions were easing in the fourth day of the strike were visible yesterday, officials said. About 165 inmates reported to jobs making furniture, mattresses and license plates yesterday, said Division of Correction spokesman David B. Towers. Prison administrators responded by restoring telephone service for inmates. The prisoners have not been permitted to use phones or receive visitors since Monday, when inmates first refused to leave their cells. By Tuesday, nearly all the inmates at the House of Correction had joined the protest. Officials said they might restore visitation privileges and reopen the commissary for inmates as early as Friday. Inmates stopped working to call attention to about a dozen complaints, ranging from the quality of medical care and food to the number of training and educational programs available to them. Although officials had agreed to address issues such as the quality of food, the majority of inmate demands were dismissed, according to correction officials. Officials will not lift the smoking ban that went into effect July 2 at all 25 of the state prisons or reconsider plans to require inmates to wear uniforms beginning later this year, Towers said. Officials also rejected the inmates' request to re-establish an Inmate Advisory Council, representatives who would meet regularly with wardens. Officials said inmates are permitted to write to or talk with staff about their concerns. |
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