About 15 Maine prisoners went on a hunger strike last week and plan to do it again to protest conditions they say are solitary confinement.
The strike at the Maine State Prison in Warren started Thursday morning and ended Saturday, prisoner Nick Gladu said during a phone call Wednesday. People in the “close custody” pod in the prison are only allowed out of their cells for an hour every day, meaning they are in their cells for an average of 23 hours, he said.
The Maine Department of Corrections confirmed there was a hunger strike with a “small number” of people. Spokesperson Samuel Prawer said the strike lasted less than 24 hours and that the department can’t share any specific details about the people involved because of confidentiality requirements.
A second hunger strike will start Friday, said Gladu, who in 2021 was convicted of photographing his sexual abuse of a 4-year-old girl and possession of child pornography.
Solitary confinement is when a prisoner is confined for “22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact,” according to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Research found that people in prolonged isolation can lead to more behavioral issues, especially if they also have mental health illness.
In 2022, the prison’s top official said they do not use solitary confinement. The department’s statement on Wednesday did not answer specific questions about whether any prisoners in the close custody pod are allowed outside their cell for more than an hour a day.