The Utah Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says a hunger strike by 42 Utah State Prison inmates is more about improving living conditions than relocating gang leaders. 
 
 UTAH STATE PRISON — The Utah Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says a hunger strike by 42 Utah State Prison inmates is more about improving living conditions than relocating gang leaders. 
 
 "The ACLU of Utah supports the striking prisoners in their requests for relief from specific conditions they and their fellow prisoners face," the group said in a prepared statement. 
 
 The inmates, all documented gang members, according to prison administrators, began their hunger strike Friday. The inmates are part of the prison's Special Threat Group and are housed in the Uintah 2 unit. 
 
 The Uintah housing facility is for maximum security inmates. Uintah 1, referred to unofficially as "supermax," is where death row inmates are housed. 
 
 On Friday, Utah Department of Corrections officials announced that 42 inmates had refused their breakfasts and stated they were beginning a hunger strike to bring attention to a list of six demands, including the relocation of certain gang leaders from one area of maximum security to another. 
 
 The ACLU of Utah, however, said the strike is more about living conditions, specifically what they say is extreme isolation. The group had received several dozen letters from inmates outlining their concerns, two of which stood out. 
 
 "First, (Special Threat Group) prisoners are locked in their cells with one cellmate for 47 out of every 48 hours, being allowed out of their cells only three times a week for about an hour, and only with their cellmate. Second, (Special Threat Group) prisoners are not given any access to rehabilitative or educational programming and no work opportunities. Some individuals who wrote to the ACLU have been living in these conditions for years," the ACLU said in its statement. 
 
 "These highly isolated conditions are closely akin to solitary confinement, but with the added problems inherent to spending all of one’s time in the same cramped quarters with another person, locked in a cell for 47 out of 48 hours at a time. Moreover, with no access to rehabilitative programs, education or work, these prisoners are denied opportunities other prisoners have to meet their goals for personal improvement and earlier release, and to prepare to reintegrate themselves into the communities when they are released." 
 
 The ACLU included quotes from those inmate letters in their statement. 
 
 "We have nothing in here. How are we supposed to better ourselves when we can’t get any programming?” wrote one prisoner. “This place is psychologically damaging, and these conditions are not helpful. We want to change for the better of the community, but we can’t get any programming to better ourselves.” 
 
 "This place has heavy social and psychological effects on us, causing social and psychological disorders,” wrote another prisoner. “Paranoia, high anxiety, it’s hard sometimes to communicate with family on the outside even with other inmates.” 
 
 The ACLU said the inmates also raised concerns about "inadequate nutrition, lack of supplies to maintain the hygiene of their cells, and insufficient medical treatment." 
 
 Prison administrators, however, said many of these issues are something the prison had already been working on for months. 
 
 "We have been in the process of reviewing and revising, such as our inmate classification system, programming and out-of-cell time in our maximum-security areas. Months ago, and again this weekend, we informed these inmates of this work-in-progress," said prison spokeswoman Brooke Adams. 
 
 The ACLU acknowledged that prison officials had been discussing the issues. 
 
 "They have cited safety, lack of physical space for time out and programming, and staffing, among other issues, as presenting challenges in these efforts. While the (Utah Department of Corrections') efforts are to be commended, the extreme conditions that (Special Threat Group) prisoners face are ongoing and urgent," the ACLU stated. 
 
 "All of these changes require careful consideration of our ability to provide safety and security for inmates, staff and the facility given our limited resources and the design of the Uinta buildings," Adams added. 
 
 "We disagree with how the letter characterizes aspects of our operations and practices," she continued. "While we respect the right of these inmates to refuse to eat, we believe there are more positive ways to raise concerns and bring about change. We do not negotiate or respond to demands, threats or intimidation from inmates." 
 
 ACLU officials would like the prison to use the services of "independent experts to evaluate inmate claims if there is any doubt about what the (Special Threat Group) prisoners have told us. In particular, the ACLU urges (the Department of Corrections) to obtain an independent assessment of the psychological condition of the inmates subjected to these conditions for multiple years." 
 
 Adams said the prison would continue to deliver three meals each day to inmates. 
 
 In a written update late Monday, Adams said the Department of Corrections is considering possible discipline for the inmates participating in the hunger strike and "reviewing available legal options with its counsel from the Utah Attorney General's Office should intervention become necessary." 
 
 She also addressed the ACLU's support for the inmates in her statement. 
 
 "It is unfortunate the ACLU did not take advantage of this opportunity to advise us of a potential of a hunger strike, which it has apparently been aware of for some time, and seek to resolve them together," Adams wrote. 
 
 Some inmates with cleaning or food preparation jobs have refused to complete those tasks, according to Adams. All 42 inmates continued to participate in the hunger strike Monday, though some appear to be eating in their cells, she said. 
 
 "During an inventory conducted on Friday, correctional officers observed large amounts of commissary items in participating inmates' cells. Since then, (prison employees) have documented several inmates consuming commissary food in their cells," Adams wrote. 
 
 One inmate has reportedly accepted breakfast twice, and several others have consented to taking juice from prison staff. 
 
 Medical workers are also monitoring the inmates to the best of their ability, but in many instances the inmates are being uncooperative, according to Adams. Every inmate refused to be weighed Monday, and only one has accepted the offer to meet with a nurse for a medical checkup. 
 
 "Two inmates with pre-existing health conditions are being closely monitored," Adams wrote. "Also under review is how refusing food might impact any medications an inmate is taking. Medical staff has provided each inmate with a fact sheet outlining the possible adverse affects of prolonged fasting." 
 
 Contributing: Ben Lockhart 
 
 Email: preavy@deseretnews.com 
 
 Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam ||||| Prison officials said several of the changes the prisoners are calling for, including modifications to the way inmates are classified as threats and the amount of time maximum-security inmates receive outside of their cells, have been under review for months now. Mejia said the ACLU met with prison officials before the hunger strike began, but were given no firm timeline for when the proposed changes might be instituted. ||||| Medical staff tried to conduct exams Monday, but all of the strike participants refused to be weighed and all but one refused to meet with a nurse, Adams wrote. Mental-health staff met with each inmate Monday. Two inmates with known medical conditions are being closely monitored, and each inmate has received a fact sheet about potential health effects of fasting. 
 
 The striking inmates all are maximum-security inmates and documented gang members, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. They have said they want gang leaders moved to a different part of the prison, more time outside of their cells and more services for education and rehabilitation. 
 
 The ACLU of Utah has said about 30 inmates in the unit, known as Uinta 2, have written complaints of "squalid living conditions" and prolonged confinement, claiming some are kept in their cells for 47 of every 48 hours. Inmates also have said their meals are not adequate. 
 
 Prison officials recently met with the ACLU and two other advocacy groups, invited their input and provided them with an overview of potential changes. 
 
 ealberty@sltrib.com 
 
 Twitter @erinalberty
– The maximum-security Utah State Prison sits about 20 miles outside of Salt Lake City, in Draper, Utah. Within its walls, in the Uinta 2 housing unit, live what's referred to as the Special Threat Group, or STG. These inmates, who have been branded violent, say they're kept in a cell for 47 of 48 hours with one cellmate, with no access to rehabilitative or educational programs. Now, dozens of them are on a hunger strike aimed at changing the conditions. The ACLU's Utah chapter yesterday said more than 40 prisoners have been refusing food since Friday. Prison officials back this up, sort of: They count 42 hunger strikers, but say some of the men have been accepting juice packets or seen eating food purchased from the commissary, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The ACLU of Utah cites inmate complaints about "squalid living conditions" and inadequate meals, and the Utah Department of Corrections confirms that the 42 inmates on Friday handed over a letter containing six demands, reports the Los Angeles Times. One of the demands calls for the relocation of a number of gang members within the maximum security area (the Deseret News reports that the 42 are all known gang members, per the prison), but the ACLU says the strike's true purpose is to put an end to the extreme isolation. "These highly isolated conditions are closely akin to solitary confinement, but with the added problems inherent to spending all of one’s time in the same cramped quarters with another person," says the ACLU in a statement. Officials say some of the men's demands were under consideration long before the strike began.