CDCR Gives Lipservice, Food Strike Spreads
Three weeks into the California Food Strike the CDCR has given it’s official response, which can be summed up as “We’ll look into it.” On July 15, the CDCR made a proposal to the strikers at Pelican Bay to end the strike without promising any changes. The prisoners declined the offer and continued to fast, calling it “smoke and mirrors” and “insulting.”(1) These guys are willing to die for basic rights they’ve been denied for years, decades for many, and CDCR comes to the table with nothing.
Our inquiries received similar canned responses from the Warden about “operating in full accordance to [all] law… while providing for the ethical, humane treatment of all prisoners.” Even more outrageously, he claims they provide “the ability to safely program and actively participate in their rehabilitation.” The strike is on because there are no programs or rehabilitation!
Those in close contact with the striking prisoners report that some in Pelican Bay who had stopped fasting have returned to the strike in response to the CDCR’s negligence.(1) We’ve also received word from 4 comrades in the California Institution for Men in Chino that they have just begun a hunger strike in solidarity after getting news from MIM(Prisons).
Other recently received reports include that United Struggle from Within organized comrades in Kern Valley State Prison for a 24 hour food strike in solidarity. In High Desert State Prison, where the pigs were serving double the normal amount of food to prevent a hunger strike, a number of comrades didn’t eat from July 1 thru 3rd. Whole sections of California State Prison - Corcoran are still on strike and doctors are coming in regularly to weigh the prisoners.
