Folsom Prison Officials Begin Talks With Inmate Protesters

More than 60 inmates at New Folsom Prison have refused to eat prison food since Nov. 21 to protest a yearlong lock-down of a group of Latino prisoners from Northern California.

Two representatives of Department of Corrections Director Cal Terhune met with some of the inmates Thursday.

They discussed the protesters’ 14 demands, which include a return to normal prison work and educational programs, access to the exercise yard, regular showers and contact visits with their families.

Terhune called the meeting a significant breakthrough because the inmates had refused to talk with New Folsom staff members.

“They’re talking,” Terhune said. “The process has started.”

Prisoners and their advocates have labeled the protest a hunger strike, but prison officials say many of the inmates stocked up beforehand on food items from the commissary. “One guy bought 150 packages of Top Ramen soups,” said New Folsom Warden Cheryl Pliler.

Some of the inmates, however, either did not supply themselves or have since run out of food, officials said.

At least two inmates have begun to show signs of illness related to their refusal to eat, according to Department of Corrections ombudsman Ken Hurdle, who met with the inmates Thursday.

The northerners, as they are called by prison officials, were confined to their cells Nov. 21, 1998, after a fight in the yard with Latino inmates from Southern California. Officials said that fight followed four violent confrontations in the yard over the previous year.

Maria Ortiz, coordinator of the San Jose-based Barrio Defense Committee, said she and other prison activists have begun contacting state legislators and are planning a nationwide campaign to support the protesting inmates.