Prison inmates refuse meals for second week

Published 11:14 pm Friday, July 27, 2012

RALEIGH (AP) — Administrators at a North Carolina prison are monitoring a hunger strike by inmates demanding better medical care and living conditions.
Some inmates at Central Prison in Raleigh began skipping meals July 16 after issuing a list of demands that included access to law books, toilet brushes and supplies for cleaning cell walls and windows. They also want to be allowed to shower without wearing restraints.
Prison spokeswoman Pam Walker said Friday morning the number refusing meals had fallen to seven. After lunch, she said only one of the original hunger strikers was still refusing to eat, though the number has fluctuated as inmates either join or drop out of the protest.