On July 8, 2014, the California Families Against Solitary Confinement hosted events throughout California commemorating the one year anniversary of the historic prisoner hunger strike:
CELEBRATION GATHERING
6:00pm-8:00pm
Alan Blueford Center for Justice
2343 Telegraph Ave, Oakland
At 8:00pm there will be a candlelight vigil and procession to 27th and Telegraph. Please join and share the Facebook event page.
FAMILY MEMBERS, LOVED ONES, SUPPORTERS:
11:00am – 1:00pm
300 S Spring St, Los Angeles
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
6:00pm
Perris Hills Park, 1135 E Highland Ave (corner of Highland & Valencia), San Bernardino
For more information please contact: 714-602-0420
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
During Torture Awareness Month in June, NRCAT joined with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), California Families Against Solitary Confinement (CFASC), Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP), and T'ruah:The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, to invite people of faith to mark the one year anniversary of the historic California prisoner hunger strike, which began July 8, 2013.
We invited submissions of prayers for California prisoners who remain in isolation one year after their hunger strike. We encouraged you to submit a prayer from your faith tradition, in Spanish or English or the sacred language of your religious tradition.
Background on the Historic California Prisoner Hunger Strike
Visit the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity webpage here to learn more.
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1. Eliminate group punishments. 2. Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria. 3. Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons regarding an end to long-term Solitary Confinement. 4. Provide adequate food. 5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for prisoners with indefinite SHU terms. |
On Monday July 8, 2013, over 30,000 incarcerated people in California began their third peaceful hunger strike to protest the inhumane conditions of their confinement in long-term isolation. On Thursday, September 5, the 60th day of the third peaceful hunger strike in California prisons, the hunger strike was suspended, with California legislators vowing to take legislative action and host a series of hearings.
Over 1,000 clergy and religious leaders throughout the United States supported the hunger strikers call to end torture, joining with NRCAT, the American Friends Service Committee and the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition in signing "A Religious Call for a Just and Humane End to the Hunger Strike in California Prisons." The letter called on Gov. Brown to honor the reasonable five core demands in order to bring the hunger strike to a swift and humane end. The clergy signatures from all over the U.S. were delivered to Gov. Brown and Jeffrey Beard of the CDCR.
In a statement, the California Conference of Catholic Bishops stated, “We stand opposed to this treatment because it is not restorative. Placing humans in isolation in a Secure Housing Unit (SHU) has no restorative or rehabilitative purpose. International human rights standards consider more than 15 days in isolation to be torture. The world is watching California and the United States.”
On August 23, responding to the hunger strike in California prisons, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Méndez said it was "not acceptable to use threats of forced feeding or other types of physical or psychological coercion against individuals who have opted for the extreme recourse of a hunger strike." Full statement can be read here.
To learn more about the California prisoners’ 2012 call for the cessation of all hostilities between racial groups in California prisons, visit here.
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