OAKLAND, Calif. -- A convicted killer has died during a hunger strike at a Corcoran State Prison.
Christian Alexander Gomez died on February 2, six days after he and 31 other inmates began refusing food, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The inmates were protesting restrictions on access to health care, good food, legal services and other amenities.
The 27-year old Gomez was among thousands of California prisoners who have staged hunger strikes in waves since July, starting with protests against isolation units at Pelican Bay State Prison.
The Corcoran strike focused on an administrative segregation unit where prisoners are held while awaiting hearings on infractions they are accused of committing in prison.
Gomez, who was found unresponsive in his cell before he was sent to an outside hospital and pronounced dead.
Prison officials did not publicly announce Gomez' death.
He had been serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and attempted murder in Los Angeles.
Theresa Cisneros, spokeswoman for Corcoran, says prisoners on hunger strike are weighed and their vital signs are taken every day, and they are not allowed to starve, she said.
The medical examiner has not released an autopsy report.
Christian Alexander Gomez died on February 2, six days after he and 31 other inmates began refusing food, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The inmates were protesting restrictions on access to health care, good food, legal services and other amenities.
The 27-year old Gomez was among thousands of California prisoners who have staged hunger strikes in waves since July, starting with protests against isolation units at Pelican Bay State Prison.
The Corcoran strike focused on an administrative segregation unit where prisoners are held while awaiting hearings on infractions they are accused of committing in prison.
Gomez, who was found unresponsive in his cell before he was sent to an outside hospital and pronounced dead.
Prison officials did not publicly announce Gomez' death.
He had been serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and attempted murder in Los Angeles.
Theresa Cisneros, spokeswoman for Corcoran, says prisoners on hunger strike are weighed and their vital signs are taken every day, and they are not allowed to starve, she said.
The medical examiner has not released an autopsy report.
