Amid a massive hunger-strike being waged across the state of California by thousands of prisoners in several facilities, officials may move to begin force-feeding inmates if it could prevent a larger uprising from occurring.<\/p>\n
\n California is one of only three states where prison physicians
\n are barred from using force-feeding in instances where inmates
\n refuse to eat, but ProPublica journalist Christie Thompson has
\n noted that the courts there have also allowed for an exception in
\n the event that not intervening might cause chaos to unfold within
\n a facility.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now one week after prisoners at 22 state prisons and four
\n out-of-state facilities started refusing meals, officials could
\n consider taking the route that physicians have adopted at the
\n Guantanamo Bay detention facility.\n<\/p>\n
\n The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation only
\n recognizes a fasting streak as a hunger-strike if inmates forego
\n nine consecutive meals. The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday
\n afternoon that the number of prisoners who have reached that
\n point has dwindled down to 4,487 from the original 30,000 inmates
\n involved in the strike one week earlier. As calls for reform
\n within the California prison system continue, though, officials
\n could see inmates \u2013 even in dire numbers \u2013 neglecting to eat in
\n the coming weeks.\n<\/p>\n
\n And although the California Correctional Health Care Services\u2019
\n director of legislation told ProPublica that \u201cForce-feeding
\n inmates is not part of our medical protocol<\/i>,\u201d a provision
\n within established law leads room for the CDCR to start ordering
\n those procedures to take place if it\u2019s imperative to the safety
\n of the prison.\n<\/p>\n
\n A 1993 decision made by the State Supreme Court ruled that a
\n paralyzed inmate could \u201cdecline life-sustaining treatment,
\n even if to do so will cause or hasten death<\/i>,\u201d paving the way
\n for a provision that today keeps officials from intervening right
\n away in any attempts to protest. Elsewhere in that ruling,
\n though, the court ruled, \u201cIn another case, or in this case if
\n a change of circumstances warrant, we do not preclude prison
\n authorities from establishing the need to override an inmate\u2019s
\n choice to decline medical intervention<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cA custodial environment is uniquely susceptible to the
\n catalytic effect of disruptive conduct<\/i>,\u201d the ruling
\n continued, \u201cand courts will not interfere with reasonable
\n measures required to forestall such untoward consequences<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n In other words, the decision stated, authorities can intervene
\n with medical treatment \u201cwhen otherwise health prisoner\u2019s
\n attempt to starve himself threatened prison disciple and
\n security<\/i>.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, such measures must be demonstrable \u2018reasonable\u2019 and
\n necessary<\/i>,\u201d not a matter of conjecture.\n<\/p>\n
\n According to ProPublica\u2019s Thompson, the prison officials might
\n reach such a conclusion should they feel threatened by the
\n current strike. Isaac Ontiveros, a spokesperson with the Prisoner
\n Hunger Strike Solidarity Network, told Thompson that \u201cIt
\n doesn\u2019t need to come to that<\/i>,\u201d though, adding prison
\n officials \u201ccan end this very, very simply<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of bad press if you force-feed
\n inmates<\/i>,\u201d bioethicist Dr. Jacob Appel added to Thompson\u2019s
\n report. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of bad press if you have a lot of
\n protesting inmates and one of them dies<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n As of Sunday evening, strikes were continuing in 23 California
\n prisons and one out-of-state prison. According to the LA Times,
\n 731 inmates have also refused to go to work or class.\n<\/p>\n
\n Inmates at the facilities have released a list of demands to the
\n prison asking for, among other requests, an end to the state\u2019s
\n practice of holding inmates suspected of internal gang
\n involvement in isolation indefinitely.\n<\/p>\n