Juanita's Menudo brings California prisoner hunger strike to an end
By ONANTZIN News
2011-07-21
San Francisco, CA -- Dozens of inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison ended a three-week hunger strike today after prison guards tempted them with irresistible menudo from Juanita.
The prisoners were protesting conditions in isolation units at the facility, and regardless of what the guards tried, they had been unable to get the prisoners to eat since July 1st - the day the strike began.
The prison guards caught a break today when one of the Hispanic guards decided to pack his previous night's leftover menudo for lunch. As he made his scheduled after-lunch round with the prisoners, several of the starving inmates caught a whiff of Juanita's divine menudo emanating from him; the rest is history.
After every single prisoner formerly on strike had finished eating his tasty menudo, prison guards at Pelican Bay shared their successful strategy with three other prisons where 500 inmates were still refusing to eat.
Corrections Secretary Matt Cate said that despite caving in, the Pelican Bay inmates will receive cold-weather caps, wall calendars, educational opportunities(maybe), and a poster of Edward James Olmos from the movie American Me.
The breakthrough came at a critical moment for prison officials, as concerns had been mounting over the health of several inmates who had begun showing signs of severe starvation.
Advocates for the prisoners said they were pleased to hear that the inmates had decided to eat, but called the Juanita's Menudo strategy a cheap shot by prison officials.