Dozens of California prisoners hospitalized after 40 days of hunger strike

[annm4peace]

Last edited Mon Aug 19, 2013, 10:29 PM - Edit history (2)

http://rt.com/usa/california-prison-hunger-strike-608/

Dozens of inmates on a hunger strike in California prisons have been hospitalized – 40 days into an organized fast by 200 prisoners. The inmates are protesting state prison conditions, including increasing reliance on solitary confinement as a punishment.

Prison doctors say they fear for the health of 118 prisoners who have been on continuous hunger strike since July 8, when tens of thousands of inmates in California prisons refused breakfast.

The units, where prisoners are kept in cells for 23 hours per day and allowed an hour of solitary exercise in an enclosed yard, have raised concerns from human rights activists, who argue that prisoners are harmed by a lack of social interaction.

According to nutritionists, by the 40th day of refusing food inmates will be suffering from a series of medical and psychological problems, some of which may cause irreparable damage to their health.

"Everything shrinks and the body tends to be starving and just about nothing else," Dr. Marc Hellerstein, who studies nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley told Reuters. "They will have less judgment, they will have less interest, they will become socially withdrawn and isolated. They just want to curl up in a corner."

The receiver's office has not published the total number of inmates who began eating again after falling ill, but strike participation is dropping. According to officials, 292 inmates remained on hunger strike Monday, including 144 continuously since the action began. By Thursday, 226 were on hunger striker, 118 continuously.

Among the complaints sending inmates to hospital are dehydration, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and lightheadedness.

"It can have long-term effects on your internal organs as your body is pretty much eating itself from the inside out," said Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver overseeing care in the state's prisons.