Some media have compared the Pelican Bay Prison to those in Palestine.

One of its captives, Sitawa Dewberry had been locked up in Pelican Bay State Prison since 1985 when he was convicted of murder. A few years after that he was placed in Pelican Bay facilities, in the Secure Housing Unit (SHU), famous for its solitary confinement to isolate the gang affiliations in prisons.

The prisoner was held in his windowless cell 22.5 hours of the day, taking his meals through a slot in the wall, and gets his necessary exercise within an empty room without direct sunlight.

The prisoners were also not allowed calendars, phone calls, boxers, typewriters, sausages, cheese and other items. They are only allowed to wear the thin uniform they were given, and not allowed to have boxers, undershirts, and sweatpants. Because of this, during the cold months of winter, they will have to brave the cold.

The Californian prisoners, in addition to being trapped within 4 walls at all times, were also not allowed to contact anyone at all, both outside and inside the prisons. Dewberry says that the experience is a "horror story."

This jailing method was introduced to prevent gangs from forming inside the prison. However, since Tuesday, 30,000 of the inmates captured in California held a hunger strike. The strikers are demanding that the indefinite and long-term solitary confinement must end, as they are severely cruel, and the convicts should be able to access enough and healthy foods in addition to warm clothing.

Some of the inmates were forced to be fed through tubes during the hunger strike, however, some are refusing even the tubes.