The Hudson Valley Radical has organized a rally at Hulme Park this upcoming Tuesday, July 30th, @7:00 PM to stand in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in California. The rally will take place on the same day as rallies across California and in other states to push for the prisoners' 5 core demands. To learn how to take action now in support of the strike, visit the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity website.
On July 8th, 30,000 prisoners in California went on hunger strike, demanding an end to solitary confinement, group punishment, and poor inmate programs.
In California, over 10,000 people are currently locked up in Security Housing Units (SHU), some for years or even decades on end. This long-term solitary confinement constitutes torture under international law, which specifies that an individual must not be kept in solitary for more than 15 days.
In New York's prisons, inmates are kept in similarly atrocious conditions, and our action in solidarity with the California hunger strike is also a protest against prison conditions in our state.
In California, prison officials have retaliated against strike organizers, declared participation in the strike gang activity, and denied strikers access to legal representatives or medical care.
On July 26th, inmate Billy Sell passed away after being denied medical care for several days. Officials in California have called the death a suicide. Strike participants consider it murder by neglect.
Following the rally, we will write letters of solidarity to inmates on strike. We will also write to California officials calling for an end to deadly strike-breaking methods and the start of serious talks between the state and prisoner representatives.
To learn more about the California prison hunger strike, visit www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com
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