More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices

Thousands of prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in Texas. In November, more than 500 prisoners had been in isolation for more than a decade. (Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune)

It’s been more than three days since Texas prisoners across the state began a hunger strike to protest indefinite solitary confinement, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has confirmed at least 72 people are still starving themselves.

An activist working with the protesting men believes the number is closer to 120, down from the more than 300 she estimated began refusing food on Tuesday. Striking prisoners are medically evaluated daily, and doctors can force feed a prisoner whose condition worsens, according to prison spokesperson Amanda Hernandez.