(Utica, NY – July 13, 2013) About 20 local citizens participated in a protest to show support for the more than 12,000 prisoners in California who have entered their fifth day of a hunger strike in a push to end long-term solitary confinement, which they call a form of “indefinite state-sanctioned torture.” Occupy Utica, Incarcerated Flavors, and the Central New York Citizens in Action, Inc. sponsored the local protest, which was held Friday, July 12 at 5 p.m. in front of the State Office Building on Genesee Street, outside the Parole Office.
Other demands of the hunger strikers include ending harsh group punishment, redefining gang activity, improving food quality, and increasing access to healthcare and education services. In addition to refusing meals, more than a thousand prisoners are also missing classes and prison work programs. This is the third large-scale hunger strike in the past two years.
The current fast began at Pelican Bay State Prison, and has now spread to two-thirds of the state’s 33 prisons. Corrections officials have reportedly responded by threatening to search prisoners’ cells, subject them to mental health evaluations, and deny them access to visitors and mail.