Inmates on hunger strike at Supermax

Staff and wire report

YOUNGSTOWN

Inmates at Ohio’s highest-security prison have entered the second week of a hunger strike protesting recreation and programming restrictions that include a ban on religious gatherings.

A prisons-department spokeswoman said nine inmates at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown were continuing to refuse meals as of Friday in a protest that began March 19. The prison includes Ohio’s death row and super-maximum security lockdown.

Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said most inmates have been prohibited from roaming their enclosed housing units freely, and group programming has been halted for the highest-security inmates. She cited safety and security concerns, including a serious assault on staff, in the decision.

Striking inmates argue religious programming is a constitutionally protected right.

Smith said inmates still have access to one-on-one religious services.

According to the Department of Corrections official policy on hunger strikes, a prisoner is classified as taking part in a hunger strike if they miss nine-consecutive meals or three days of a meals in a row.

When an inmate is on a hunger strike, a team is forced to monitor their progress, and the team includes a representative of religious services, according to the policy. A log is kept on each inmate who is on a hunger strike and is updated after each contact with the inmate during the hunger strike.

Inmates can be fed against their will, but only after it is determined that the absence of further food would cause them severe physical harm. The feedings would then continue until the inmate’s health is no longer in danger or they decide to end their hunger strike.

Smith said she is not sure if the inmates are fasting water as well or just food.