Wednesday marks day six of a hunger strike at the Utah State Prison, where inmates are refusing food over prison conditions described as “psychologically damaging.” The strike, which began in a maximum-security unit, has no end in sight — and the inmates are now being punished for it.
According to Brooke Adams, a Utah Department of Corrections representative, 42 inmates in the Uinta 2 unit approached prison staff with a list of demands last Friday. Requests included more time outside of cells, a reformed inmate classification policy, and the transfer of gang members to another prison unit. Participating inmates have refused meals and health evaluations. As of Wednesday morning, 11 inmates were still refusing food trays.
But on Tuesday, prison staff started doling out punishments to some of the prisoners involved. A press statement written by Adams says 11 people have been transferred for papering the windows of their cells, refusing to be handcuffed, or breaking sprinklers. Officials have also conducted meetings with strikers about individual punishments, such as reduced television and commissary time. The removal of snacks purchased at the commissary is also on the table.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah says it has received dozens of inmate letters about living conditions at the facility. Prisoners allege their medical treatment is insufficient, and nutrition and hygiene standards are lacking. They also go 47 to 48 hours without leaving their cells, which contributes to psychological trauma.
One letter reads, “this place has heavy social and psychological effects on us, causing social and psychological disorders.” Another states, “this place is psychologically damaging, and these conditions are not helpful. We want to change for the better of the community, but we can’t get any programming to better ourselves.”
The prison has also gained public attention because of several deaths at the facility this year. One inmate was found hanging in his cell. Another allegedly died because he was not given dialysis.
“There’s a relatively new administration there. I think they are open to looking at policies that are out of date or need to be changed, but it is an old prison and there are units that are outliers,” Lauren Farrell of ACLU Utah told ThinkProgress. “At this point they are allowed one hour out of their cells, every other day, and that includes time to shower and be outside. It’s clear the conditions as they are right now are quite limited.”
In 2012, one inmate serving time in isolation called the cell a “place of pain and terror.” “I write, read, cry, sleep and beg for death,” he said.
The hunger strike echos national concerns about long periods of isolation, which criminal justice advocates liken to torture. Neuroscientists believe extended time spent alone can actually alter brain shape within days. It also causes “visual and auditory hallucinations, hypersensitivity to noise and touch, insomnia and paranoia, uncontrollable feelings of rage and fear…increased risk of suicide, [and] PTSD.”
But this isn’t the first time inmates have been punished for protesting. Prisoners who launched a similar hunger strike over solitary confinement in California were blasted with cold air and banned from seeing their lawyers. In Washington, Immigration and Customs Enforcement threw immigrant detainees into solitary units after they demanded higher pay for their prison labor. Women in Texas were also put in isolated cells after launching a food strike for higher-quality medical care.