Philadelphians join protest against overuse of solitary confinement

A group of Philadelphians joined a movement yesterday that’s spreading across the nation as inmates at California’s Pelican Bay Prison protest what they say is overuse of solitary confinement. Some Pelican Bay inmates are staging a hunger strike.

NewsWorks partner Philadelphia Weekly stopped by the City Hall demonstration, where 30 people shouted for the rights of prisoners after Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity claimed some of the Pelican Bay inmates are experiencing organ damage from dehydration due to the hunger strike.

Protesters say funding cuts have caused worse conditions outside prisons, leading to a growing prison population and the use of solitary confinement to control inmates.