Soledad inmates begin hunger protest against Three Strikes law

Updated 1 p.m.: There is no indication that inmates from the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad are on a hunger strike, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced today.

“I heard rumblings of a fast a few weeks ago, but I don’t think it got much traction,” said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for CDCR.

CTF spokesman Lt. Gary Gilman said the state prison has inmates participating in hunger strike everyday, but that there is no record of a mass fast in commemoration 16th anniversary of the signing of the Three Strikes law.

Barbara Brooks, a mother of a Three-Strike felon and founder of Sentencing and Justice Reform Advocacy, had said Sunday that about 480 CTF inmates will only be drinking water and juice for three days.

Gilman said CTF is required to document every time an inmate skips any meal. Policy requires officials, he said, to conduct a medical evaluation of the inmate and determine the reason for hunger strike.

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Sunday: Hundreds of inmates at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad are fasting in protest to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the signing of the California Three Strikes law.

The fast began Sunday and involves more than 480 prisoners, said Barbara Brooks, founder of Sentencing and Justice Reform Advocacy, which sends the monthly newsletter "Advocate" to inmates and their families.

Brooks said she learned of the hunger fast from CTF inmates who came up with the idea. She joined another dozen people who gathered about 2:45 p.m. outside of CTF in support of the hunger strike, she said.

"We want our leaders to know that they have to do something with this law because many are serving 15 times the amount of time for their crimes," said Brooks, a retired court clerk and mother of a three-strikes inmate staying in San Quentin State Prison.

Officials from the CTF and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation could not be reached for comment via phone and e-mail Sunday.

The fast focuses on support of Three Strikes law reform for "non-violent three-strikers," Brooks said. These inmates, she said, are those who would normally serve six months and up to a year in county jails for their crimes.

Brooks said she was contacted by inmates at CTF to inform her of the fast and the estimated number of Sunday's participants.

The inmates, she said, will only drink water or juice.

The fast will last through Tuesday. It started Sunday — the exact day when Gov. Pete Wilson signed it into law in 1994.

"Many of these three-strikers are in their 40s and 50s and they feel like they're dying in prison for stealing a $10 radio," Brooks said.

Based on the law, repeat felons get a minimum of 25 years to life.

Unlike other inmates who commit more violent crimes, Brooks said, three-strike felons do not get any consideration of parole or probation until the minimum 25 years are served.

Many, she said, are now suffering from illnesses because of age which increases the cost to care for each inmate.

Brooks added that changes in the law may be one way to help California with its growing inmate population and budget constraints.

It costs $53,000 annually to incarcerate each person — $40 million altogether — said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the department in January.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently seeking $1.2 billion in prison budget cuts to help fill a $20 billion state deficit.

Brooks said this was the first fasting protest organized by the three-strike inmates at CTF and she hopes it becomes an annual event and expands to all 33 California prisons.