NPR

Inmates Plan To Hold Weeks-Long Strike At Prisons Across U.S.

Organizers say the demonstrations, which are expected to include hunger strikes and a refusal to work, are in response to a riot at a South Carolina prison in which seven inmates died.
The planned demonstrations are in response to a riot that resulted in seven deaths in April at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina.

Inmates at prisons across the U.S. are expected to stage a weeks-long strike beginning Tuesday to demand better living conditions and prison reform.

Organizers say the demonstrations — including hunger strikes and a refusal to work — are in response to a riot in April at South Carolina's Lee Correctional Institution in which seven inmates died.

"The main leverage that an inmate has. "If they choose not to go to work and just sit in in the main area or the eating area, and all the prisoners choose to sit there and not go to the kitchen for lunchtime or dinnertime, if they choose not to clean or do the yardwork, this is the leverage that they have. Prisons cannot run without prisoners' work."

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
A Hidden Danger In Gaza; A Haitian Gang Leader Speaks Up
Even if Israel and Gaza agree to a cease-fire, unexploded ordnance could continue to kill and maim Palestinians in Gaza for years. A Haitian gang leader says he's ready for a long fight.
NPR2 min read
Flash Floods Have Killed More Than 300 People In Afghanistan
Floods from heavy seasonal rains have destroyed over 1,000 houses, the U.N. food agency said. A U.N. official said the floods are a reminder of Afghanistan's vulnerability to the climate crisis.
NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
Federal Prosecutors Request 40-year Sentence For Man Who Attacked Pelosi's Husband
Prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence for the man who broke into ex-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home seeking to hold her hostage and attacked her husband.

Related Books & Audiobooks