Prisoners in Santa Clara County’s main prison went on a hunger strike this week to protest the prison’s biggest outbreak of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March.
On Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office reported 109 new COVID-19 cases. That same night, the hunger strike began in wing 7B of the main prison to protest the unhealthy living conditions and the lack of policy that prisoners believe caused the outbreaks.
One of the more than 40 inmates who participated in the 7B hunger strike, Ceaser Torres, said the hunger strike is the only way to achieve the change that inmates so desperately need.
“It seems that the prison and the sheriff’s office facilities don’t really take us seriously unless we do something extreme,” said Torres.
Unit 7B was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak in December, which coincided with an internal private party by several correctional deputies and unmasked supervisors that appeared on Facebook.
“I think the outbreak is the result of the absolute neglect of the prison administration and staff – that or just institutional ineptitude to fulfill basic responsibilities,” said Raj Jayadev, co-founder of the grassroots community organization Silicon Valley De-Bug. “And what I’m going to point out are these pictures of correctional officers having a party.”
Jayadev said that all prison outbreaks are likely to originate with officials, as they are the only ones who leave and enter prisons.
Another De-Bug organizer, Jose Valle, who works closely with the prison population, said that everyone in 7B experienced symptoms of COVID-19. If they did not test positive, it is because they refused the test so that they did not need to be transferred to another cell, probably more dirty, said Valle.
Valle said the last December outbreak in 7B was the second outbreak in that housing unit since March.
The new 109 active positive cases recorded on Wednesday cover all county prisons.
On Friday, the count of active cases jumped to 127 new cases in the county since January 5 – accounting for a quarter of the 501 infections accumulated in jails since March.
January also marked the top three new single-day infections in the county’s incarcerated population, with 38 on Friday, 35 on January 2 and 36 on January 4. And on Tuesday, the day before the hunger strike, the county reported the fifth highest number of new infections in a single day with 22 cases.
In response to significant outbreaks, the Santa Clara County Public Prosecutor’s Office has been working with public defenders to facilitate additional releases that could begin next week.
“When COVID first took place in March, we put together a team that really quickly ended up with a reduction of about a third in the prison population,” said public prosecutor David Angel. “So, we kind of put the same team together again now.”
Angel said the releases were successful because they were able to significantly reduce the prison’s capacity without seeing an increase in recidivism rates or spikes in crime.
He also said that it is not clear how many prisoners will be released and that he will have a better idea next week, but it is unlikely that there will be another 1,000 released as in the first round.
“We are looking for people at the end of the sentence,” said Angel.
The prosecutor’s office is also looking for solutions to get those released for housing, treatment and supervision, and perhaps electronic monitoring, said Angel.
But for inmates and defenders, the additional release is just one of six demands to end the hunger strike.
Prisoners are also demanding that visitation rights not be suspended and that the county public health and correctional department create a plan to be shared with prisoners to ensure that living conditions in prison are in line with health standards. and medical treatment.
“The cells there are very unsanitary, it’s just horrible,” said Anastacia Bravo, Torres’ wife. “I am surprised that no one has died yet.”
Torres has been incarcerated in the municipality for eight years and was one of the inmates with a positive result in the last outbreak of COVID-19 in 7B.
He said he has participated in an annual hunger strike since 2016. The demands are different, but they are related to living conditions in prison, he said.
His longest strike was in the first year, when he did not eat for 12 days and lost 7 pounds.
This last hunger strike marks his fifth, and for him, it may be the most personal.
“You really start feeling it on the third or fourth day,” said Torres. “But I know how much my body can handle. I can spend 12, 13, 14 days and I’m willing to wait.”
After the test was positive, Torres was transferred to the prison infirmary to be quarantined with other COVID-19 positive people. After five days, he was moved to floor 6A, which is known to house people who suffer from mental problems.
“What I had to enter had feces on the wall and I had to clean it up. There was dirt, like moldy food with scabs on the floor. A lot of writing on the wall and I don’t want to discuss anything other than one of the cells also had semen on the table,” said Torres. “It just made us sicker.”
He said that when nurses came to take their vital signs, fevers increased and blood pressure dropped.
“The next day, I had a terrible cough and a headache. The body aches were severe,” said Torres. “It was hard to have COVID, especially to clean it up when you can barely breathe. I still haven’t regained my sense of smell.”
According to a survey of 30 inmates conducted by Silicon Valley De-Bug, everyone said they did not have enough cleaning supplies to keep themselves and their cells clean.
The same survey found that 85% of prisoners are in bunk beds in dormitories less than two meters apart, 100% said they were forced to share bathrooms without sanitation between uses, and 95% said phones were not sanitized between uses.
In an e-mail, the sheriff’s office said it was aware of the hunger strike and working to find solutions.
“We take the health and well-being of the people in our care seriously and will work closely with the Custody Health Services in relation to those who decide to participate,” says the email. “Our office will continue to work to address and resolve issues related to prison operations.”
Jayadev said that prisoners, family members and defenders have been working for months in an effort to change living conditions for prisoners.
“That’s why we came to this hunger strike,” said Jayadev. “They have [inmates] they ran out of options and did everything they could. “
He said that they followed the conventional paths offered to them: filing complaints, appealing responses to complaints, trying to enter the judicial system and getting family and friends to advocate on their behalf.
Torres said he filed two complaints in January, but does not expect it to change much. In his experience, hunger strikes are the only thing that drives the sheriff’s office to make significant changes.
“I have been here for so many years and I have seen the changes they are capable of making. And I know that the captain of the sheriff’s office has the authority to give us what we are asking for, which are really simple things, “said Torres.
Torres was negative for COVID-19 in late December, but is still dealing with some symptoms. His wife fears that the hunger strike will lead to further health complications.
“I don’t think it’s fair for my husband to go hungry just to get some basic rights,” said Bravo. “I don’t want him to do that, especially since he is still recovering from COVID. But this is his fifth hunger strike and he is determined to make a change.”
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