SACRAMENTO, July 10 (UPI) -- A mass protest at California prisons entered a third day with thousands of inmates refusing meals and 10 under medical observation, officials said.
The 10 inmates needing observation began their hunger strike at High Desert Prison in northeast California a week before the statewide action began, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The High Desert inmates seek improved conditions that include cleaner facilities, better food and more access to the prison library.
California prison officials said the protests at other state prisons focus mainly on solitary confinement conditions.
Tuesday 29,000 inmates refused meals, 1,000 fewer than at the start of the strike Monday.
The statewide prison protest was organized by inmates at Pelican Bay, the state's most isolated prison near the Oregon border.
Prisoners at that facility used a network of family members and advocacy groups to spread their call for a hunger strike.
The California prison system has been criticized by the federal courts for its care of inmates.
Federal judges have ordered Gov. Jerry Brown to release thousands of prisoners by the end of the year to ease the overcrowding they say is the root of the problem.
