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California grapples with inmate illness as hunger strike drags on
Source: Reuters
California grapples with inmate illness as hunger strike drags on
By Sharon Bernstein
SACRAMENTO | Fri Aug 16, 2013 9:02am EDT
(Reuters) - California prison officials are grappling with starvation-related ailments among hunger-striking prisoners who have refused to eat for nearly six weeks to protest the state's solitary confinement policies.
As the hunger strike enters its 40th day on Friday, dozens of inmates have been sent to hospitals or prison infirmaries, and officials are bracing for more illness among the 118 prisoners who have not eaten since the strike began.
They are also expecting to have to deal with serious medical conditions plaguing those whose systems are weakened after fasting for weeks and who are now seeking to begin eating again.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Among the complaints sending inmates to hospital are dehydration, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and lightheadedness, said Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver overseeing care in the state's prisons.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
By Sharon Bernstein
SACRAMENTO | Fri Aug 16, 2013 9:02am EDT
(Reuters) - California prison officials are grappling with starvation-related ailments among hunger-striking prisoners who have refused to eat for nearly six weeks to protest the state's solitary confinement policies.
As the hunger strike enters its 40th day on Friday, dozens of inmates have been sent to hospitals or prison infirmaries, and officials are bracing for more illness among the 118 prisoners who have not eaten since the strike began.
They are also expecting to have to deal with serious medical conditions plaguing those whose systems are weakened after fasting for weeks and who are now seeking to begin eating again.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Among the complaints sending inmates to hospital are dehydration, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and lightheadedness, said Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver overseeing care in the state's prisons.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/16/us-usa-california-prisons-idUSBRE97F0HY20130816
