Standard-Examiner
UINTA — Forty two inmates at the Utah State Prison began a hunger strike Friday morning to demand the release of gang leaders.
The hunger strike letter the Utah Department of Corrections received on Friday from the inmates in the Uinta Facility listed six demands, including the relocation of gang leaders currently housed in one of the maximum-security units.
Some demands address issues that in recent months the prison has been in the process of reviewing and revising, such as the inmate classification system, programming and out-of-cell time in maximum-security areas.
Months ago, and again this weekend, prison staff informed these inmates of this work-in-progress. They also recently met with representatives of the ACLU of Utah, the Disability Law Center and the Utah Prisoner Advocate Network and provided them with an overview of changes and are considering and inviting their input, according to a statement released from the Utah Department of Corrections.
All of these changes require careful consideration of the ability to provide safety and security for inmates, staff and the facility given the limited resources and the design of the Uinta buildings.
The prison staff disagrees with how the letter characterizes aspects of operations and practices. While they respect the right of these inmates to refuse to eat, they believe there are more positive ways to raise concerns and bring about change.
Prison staff do not negotiate or respond to demands, threats or intimidation from inmates. They continue to offer the inmates participating in the strike three meals each day as regularly scheduled. They also are continuing to monitor their health and will again offer medical checks to each inmate on Monday.