More than 12,000 prisoners in the California correctional system have entered into a hunger strike to protest solitary confinement practices in the state’s prisons. The hunger strike is the largest of its kind in California history, nearly doubling a similar hunger strike in 2011.
Prisoners face additional disciplinary action for the “mass disturbances” in over two dozen facilities statewide. Prisoners are also refusing to take part in scheduled work assignments.
4,527 prisoners are being held in “security housing units” where they are isolated from the rest of the prison population for up to 23 hours of the day. Prison officials claim such punishment is reserved for those individuals with established gang affiliation, or for those who have committed crimes during their incarceration.
Demands of the protesters focus specifically on prison the prison policy that allows prisoners to be held indefinitely in isolation. In some cases, prisoners have been placed in solitary confinement for over a decade due to alleged membership in prison gangs. Although prison officials defend the use of confinement for gang members, they started a review process in 2012 for prisoners in security housing that had no evidence of gang activity. Half of those prisoners reviewed have been released into the prison’s general population.
While solitary confinement can and does serve a purpose in maintaining safe and secure prisons, the practice has been historically overused, often used as a disciplinary threat for a wide range of malfeasances. Contrary to the practice’s intent, an increase in solitary confinement can actually lead to an increase in violent behavior behind bars. A study of the state of Mississippi’s solitary confinement practices found that 80 percent of those being held in such confinement did not meet the stated standards. Subsequent reforms in the state have significantly reduced violent occurrences in the prison, and have saved taxpayers millions of dollars.
To learn more about the practice of solitary confinement, and what reforms can be made, visit the Justice Fellowship website.