Hunger strike for 29,000 California inmates in fourth day

A hunger strike by California prisoners has entered its fourth day, with 29,000 inmates protesting against lengthy solitary confinement sentences at the state's high-security prisons.

But California's prisons chief says the strike is detrimental to their cause.

Many of the roughly 3,800 prisoners in solitary confinement have been deemed to have gang ties, and some have spent more than a decade in isolation.

It is the third such hunger strike in California prisons in two years.

But the strike that began on Monday when 30,000 inmates refused meals is the largest in the state's history. The number of striking prisoners has fallen below 29,000 as of Wednesday.
'Make their point'

"I don't think it helps anything to do this," Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard said on Thursday in his first comments on the strike.

"Much of what they're asking for is being done. It's just not being done fast enough for them... the hunger strike actually interferes with the process."

After the two previous strikes, the corrections department began a programme to reduce isolation sentences. Hundreds have either already been released from solitary confinement or have been marked for release.

But the programme was suspended as the strike began on Monday. Mr Beard told an oversight hearing that corrections authorities would not make concessions to the prisoners.

"I think the department has pretty much done what it can do," Mr Beard told the Associated Press on Thursday. "My hope is that they sort of make their point, get the thing over and we can go back and start doing the reviews."

Groups supporting the strikers say California's programme does too little to prevent or limit the confinement sentences.
22-24 hours a day

"They're asking for a more humane set of conditions that aren't designed to destroy people," said Claude Marks, a spokesman for the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition.

"If that's [Beard's] position, that [California] has nothing else to offer, then that explains why there's an issue."

In one high-security prison near the Oregon border, Pelican Bay, more than a 1,000 prisoners remain in solitary confinement.

About 500 have been in isolation between 22-24 hours a day for more than a decade, with dozens spending more than 20 years in the cells, according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf.

Three other high-security prisons in California have similar programmes.

According to the Los Angeles Times, those formerly in isolation have been released into the general prison population either because they no longer qualified for isolation, were part of a four-year "step-down" programme, or had agreed to inform on other prisoners.

Solitary confinement should be reserved for people who woyuld pose a significant risk if allowed to be in the main prison population. Lengthy stays in solitary confinement should not be used as a form of punishment.

Whats to say most of them didnt merit being there? I also cask why not? prison is to punish is it not?
and on your first point it can also be used to house those who have a significant risk posed to them by the prison population, amusingly enough it goes both ways.
but i still fail to see the need to pitty murderers and rapists...

I don't like the idea of punishment, it suggests revenge. I think of the justice system as a way to remove dangerous people from society, deter against crimes, and rehabilite people. I don't se solitary confinment doing any of those things effectively.

I do believe we'regoing to have differing opinions regardless on this but never the less,

Whats wrong with retribution if [for example] a man comes into your house to burgle you but accidently the family wakes up he kills your wife and daughter and makes a dash.. hes caught tried and sentanced, would you want to see this kind of person [if its even possible] rehabilitated or would you want them to suffer, its all the carrot and stick/negative and positive reinforcement thing really which works best... unfortunately each one will work better on different people.
Its an imperfect system ill grant you but theres not really any better alternatives, although i did like the British idea of dumping them on the other side of the world and the french dumping them on remote islands out of sight out of mind.

I'm sure most prisons are privatised having them in solitary confinement would mean less requirement for active staff = higher profits.

Would you rather they suffer? I imagine that could be a thought that arises if someone does that to your family but really, what good will come out of them suffering? I think rehabilitation would be better for everyone. No amount of the criminal suffering will make it even.

How can they go on a hunger strike I couldn't last an hour in all honesty lolololol


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You what? It's not most prisons, there are like 100,000 prisoners in private prisons and over 2 million incarnated.

Did you just wiki that? LOL not some fact someone would be randomly walking around with haha

It is when you spend a lot of time on reddit where you keep seeing posts about private prisons.

Would you rather they suffer? I imagine that could be a thought that arises if someone does that to your family but really, what good will come out of them suffering? I think rehabilitation would be better for everyone. No amount of the criminal suffering will make it even.

depending on the crime committed, yes. Some crimes are unforgiveable and if they arent given ye good olde chair for it then they should atleast pay for what theyve done.
Well potential act of deterrance for anyone else thinking of doing it, as for that person if theyre in prison that long the chances of them reoffending are high enough if makes little difference if theyre 'rehabilitated' they are unhirable and will almost unilaterally go back to a life of crime, hell some of them continue their crime in jail... some may well be locked in there unfairly but some of them do indeed imo deserve the harshest of punishments.

Solitary confinement should be reserved for people who woyuld pose a significant risk if allowed to be in the main prison population. Lengthy stays in solitary confinement should not be used as a form of punishment.