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Inmate hunger strike expands to more Calif. prisons

Prisoners are believed to be refusing meals in solidarity with maximum-security prisoners at Pelican Bay

By Sam Quinones
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Inmates in at least 11 of California’s 33 prisons are refusing meals in solidarity with a hunger strike staged by prisoners in one of the system’s special maximum-security units, officials said Tuesday.

The strike began Friday when inmates in the Security Housing Unit at Pelican Bay State Prison stopped eating meals in protest of conditions that they contend are cruel and inhumane.

“There are inmates in at least a third of our prisons who are refusing state-issued meals,” said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Full Story: Inmate hunger strike expands to more California prisons