Many prisoners have lost 20-35 pounds in hunger strike, advocates say

A hunger strike at four California prisons is entering its third week as more than 400 inmates protest long, punitive stays in isolation cells.

Prison officials, who refuse to allow reporters into the institutions to interview the strikers, said 49 inmates who have lost at least 10 pounds each are "being monitored closely," including seven at Pelican Bay, the maximum-security prison near the Oregon border where the hunger strike began, The Times reported.

An inmate at the prison in Tehachapi in Central California has lost 29 pounds, according to Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for the court-appointed receiver in charge of prison healthcare.

Inmate advocates say thousands of inmates have joined the strike, which began July 1. Many are beginning to show dramatic weight loss and early signs of starvation, they say.  More   PrisonerPal.com   True Crime Today  Magazine Subscriptions for Prisoners since 1975