28 Mar 2024
Thursday 1 August 2013 - 18:07
Story Code : 42557

Activists slam mistreatment of prisoners in California jails

Activists in Los Angeles are fasting to voice their anger over the inhumane treatment of prisoners in California and the recent death of an inmate in solitary confinement,Press TVreports.
The Hunger for Justice movement is in solidarity with the California inmates who have been on a hunger strike since July 8 in protest at their solitary confinement and other torturous conditions.

The protest is centered on Californias use of security housing units, or SHUs which are small, windowless cells that inmates say are part of a system of state-sponsored torture.

The protest comes after a hunger striking inmate died in solitary confinement. Billy Sell died on Monday, July 22, at the Corcoran State Prison in central California.

Prison officials are investigating Sells death as a suicide but inmate advocates are calling for an independent review.

Sells fellow inmates say he had been requesting medical attention for days before his death.

Margaret Prescod from Global Womens Strike says California officials are endorsing torture by refusing to end the use of solitary confinement.

How could it be that we live in this country with thousands of people, prisoners on hunger strike, she told Press TV.

Every life is a value and the data out there shows the physical as well as the emotional and mental impacts of solitary confinement in California. Youve got prisoners in solitary confinement for decades.

As the strike approaches its fourth week, inmate relatives are becoming more concerned.

Family members say their only hope is coming from the growing support of the people who are bringing awareness to conditions in California prisons.

The global human rights group has called on the US to end punishing California prisoners on hunger strike. It is also demanding an impartial probe into the death of Billy Sell.

By Press TV

 

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