Ely State Prison inmates refuse food as form of protest

LAS VEGAS — Nevada state corrections officials say some inmates refused food for two days at the maximum-security Ely State Prison to call attention to claims they’re not getting enough to eat.

The Department of Corrections confirmed a report about the inmate action by a Las Vegas-based nonprofit advocacy group called Nevada Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, or CURE.

Prison officials say in a statement that 26 inmates in one unit refused meals Friday morning and 17 inmates continued the protest.

The statement says all inmates were eating by Saturday evening, and no one was injured, sick, taken to a medical facility or force-fed.

Nevada CURE official John Witherow says one inmate in a segregation unit complains he’s lost weight and isn’t allowed to have personal hygiene items like soap and toothpaste.

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