According to new reports, some thirty thousand California inmates have refused meals this week; and a smaller number of refused to report for their prison work assignments. Even the New York Times is reporting the action: "Once the state tallies the official number of participants, the hunger strike could become the largest in state history. A similar hunger strike over several weeks in 2011 had about 6,000 participants at its official peak, corrections officials said, and a strike that fall had about 4,200"
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The United States also has the largest absolute number of imprisoned people, well above the repressive Russian Federation and even the most populous nation in the world, China.
There's a great series of profiles of some of the strike leaders at Solitary Watch. For updates on the strike, check out Striketheprisons.com or PrisonerHungerStrikeSolidarity.wordpress.com.
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