New post on Solitary Watch
Suicide of California Hunger Strike Participant Draws National Attention to a Broken System
by Sal Rodriguez
Billy Michael Sell, 32
Over the weekend, news came out that a hunger strike participant at California State Prison, Corcoran had committed suicide. Billy Michael Sell, 32, killed himself on July 22nd, two weeks after the launch of an on-going statewide hunger strike against long-term solitary confinement and related prison conditions. While the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) initially made a point of claiming that Sell was not on hunger strike at the time of his death, it confirmed last afternoon that Sell had been on strike from July 8th until July 21st while in the Security Housing Unit (SHU).The Kings County Coroner confirmed on Monday that Sell died as a result of hanging while in solitary confinement. Sell, unlike most California hunger strikers, was in the…
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