Hundreds of\u00a0prisoners\u2002may go on mass hunger strike\u00a0if Texas does not stop its “harsh solitary confinement practices,” according to The Texas Tribune.
\nSome prisoners have argued that they should not be confined to isolation from their peers “solely because officials identified them as prison gang members, even if they haven\u2019t had any behavioral issues in lockup,” according to The Texas Tribune.
\n“It\u2019s unclear how many prisoners will participate in the hunger strike, but activist Brittany Robertson estimated Friday that more than 300 men held in solitary confinement in more than a dozen prisons across Texas had signed on to the protest,” the Tribune reported.
\nCRIME SURGED, PRISON POPULATIONS PLUNGED: INMATES GRANTED EARLY RELEASE, COURTS FACED BACKLOG IN 2020
\nHowever, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) spokesperson Amanda Hernandez told Fox News Digital that solitary confinement “accounts for less than 3% of the inmate population” within the prison system.
\n“It is used judiciously,” she added explaining that it is mostly “inmates who are confirmed members of the most organized and dangerous prisons gangs, inmates who are escape risks, and inmates who committed assaults or multiple other serious disciplinary offenses” that are chosen for “security detention,” another term for solitary.<\/p>\n