Vol. 81/No. 24 June 19, 2017
Folsom prison hunger strike protests indignities, abuse
Among their demands: “adequate access to the courts and legal assistance”; “meaningful education, self-help courses and rehabilitative programs”; adequate exercise equipment; keeping food they buy from the commissary in proper packaging; “adequate and appropriate clothing and shoes”; and provision of a “food bowl and cup.”
In a detailed written statement the prisoners say they are forced to eat out of “recycled (‘washed’) trash bags, old ziplock bags and milk cartons.” Even toothpaste and deodorant is given to them in plastic bags. In addition, “prisoners are forced to walk around in their boxer underwear and state-issued T-shirts, which are normally extremely used and too large or too small,” the statement said.
The prisoners are also demanding to be allowed to have TVs in their cells, and an end to the practice of requiring prisoners to inform on fellow prisoners if they want to get out of the units.
Prison authorities retaliated by transferring Anthony Estrada, one of the leaders of the strike, to a prison in Tracy. They gave him a “115” write-up — accusing him of a serious disciplinary violation for participating in a “mass disturbance.”
“After months of their demands being ignored, they decided to go on a peaceful hunger strike to shed light on their horrendous living conditions,” Raquel Estrada, Anthony Estrada’s wife, told the rally. She is a hospital surgical aide and member of the Service Employees International Union in Salinas.
“It’s important to be out here, for people inside to know we are spreading the message,” said Abdullah Puckett, a participant in the Underground Scholars Initiative, a University of California program for students who have done jail time.
Members of the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, which built support for a 2013 strike of 30,000 California prisoners against solitary confinement and other abuses, also spoke.
“The leaders of the hunger strikes in 2013 stood together for 60 days in courageous action and succeeded in bringing 2,000 plus prisoners out of solitary confinement,” said Attorney Anne Weills, about a suit brought by prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison, a stronghold of that strike.
The Administrative Segregation Units are more oppressive than the SHU (Security Housing Units), the solitary confinement units the Pelican Bay leaders were protesting against, Weills said.
Prison officials claim the hunger strike ended June 1, but family members say nine inmates are still refusing food.
Supporters of improving prison conditions are urged to contact the following officials to press them to agree to the prisoners’ demands: Folsom Prison Warden Ron Rackley: (916) 985-2561 or ronald.rackley@cdcr.ca.gov; Chief Deputy Inspector General Roy Wesley: (916) 255-1102; Ombudsman Sara L. Smith: (916) 324-5458 or smith@cdcr.ca.gov; and CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan: scott.kernan@cdcr.ca.gov.
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