A nationwide strike by prison inmates was set to end Sunday, 19 days after it began. Since Aug. 21, some prisoners have chosen to forgo meals, organize peaceful sit-in protests, refuse to work and halt commissary spending. Allies on the outside stood in solidarity with the protest, marching, chanting and pressuring governments to take action against what rally organizers call “modern-day slavery,” reports USA Today. While poor wages for inmates along with racial bias in sentencing and poor prison conditions were among complaints raised by inmates, the impetus for the strike was an incident this year Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, where at least seven inmates were killed.
Reports of protests and other occurrences behind bars have trickled out through videos recorded by inmates, accounts from family members, and statements by prison reform activists and from prison officials. It’s not known how many incarcerated people took part in the boycott. The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, a labor union for prisoners, said that reports of prisoner participation have come from at least 14 states and one Canadian province so far. USA Today summarizes what is known about inmate actions in California, Delaware, Washington, Indiana, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, and Nova Scotia (Canada).