Nearly 30 people with colorful signs reading things like “honk for inmates' rights,” “bring back visits and video visits” and “incarcerated lives matter" gathered on Natividad Road in Salinas on Tuesday, Aug. 8, a few yards away from the Monterey County Jail: the place their loved ones have been on a hunger strike since Aug. 1 because they said their rights were taken away.
On the website sumofus.org, which aims to be a check on corporate power, Diana Diaz started a petition for inmate rights that has gathered 245 signatures. “These inmates are already serving a hard time by being away from society and their loved ones. Why strip them away from their basic human rights?” the petition says. Among requests include better medical care, in-person and video visits, more time to socialize, better food and following procedures for Covid-19. The title of the petition states they will send the signatures to U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, over 900 inmates started the hunger strike; of those, 150 still continue for a 10th day. “We sold much more commissary in the two weeks prior to his hunger strike than we normally do,” says Derrel Simpson, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, “Most of them are not actually refusing to eat. They're just refusing to eat the meals we prepare.”
Leticia Morfin Mandujano, who attended protests on Sunday, Aug. 7 and Monday, Aug. 8, says her son is participating in the hunger strike. Her son shared with her that there isn’t enough medical care. He reported that a doctor comes in every two or three weeks and when they have headaches or other minor illnesses they don’t get any medicine.
Simpson says the jail has medical staff 24/7 and if anyone needs urgent medical attention they get a fast response; if emergency treatment is required, they go to Natividad Medical Center, right nearby.
A protester named Perez, who didn’t want to provide her full name, says her boyfriend got sick in jail. “He wasn't getting the medicine, medical attention right away he couldn't request and he wasn't being heard. It took a few days until his attorney actually got involved.”
Morfin says inmates get the same meals every day. For lunch and dinner, it is a bologna sandwich. “With that amount of food a human being doesn’t get full,” Morfin says in Spanish, and adds the iCare packages completed their diet. Morfin says despite inmates being lawbreakers they are also human beings and they shouldn’t receive subhuman assistance. “They made a new building, they are using it. Why don’t they have money to provide them with a decent meal?"
Jail officials suspended the iCare packages because inmates were hoarding food. Simson says some will receive packages with a $900 value each week (more than what a single person will need). In addition to that, it the wraps and papers will cause issues in the jail's sewage system.
The meals in the jail are prepared by a third party that follows required guidelines. Simpson says they accommodate inmates with strict diets.
Many protesters mentioned they couldn’t visit their relatives in person or have video calls. In-person visitation stopped when the pandemic started. Simpson says video calls weren’t available for a while because inmates removed the equipment from the common areas. Simpson says this issue was resolved.
Protests started on Sunday, Aug. 7 and attendees say they will continue to show up to support their loved ones and protest outside the jail.