Can a hunger strike by state prisoners in SHU have an impact?

The question in the title of this post is inspired by this new AP article, headlined "Pelican Bay prison inmates go on hunger strike." Here are the basics:

Dozens of inmates in an isolation unit at Pelican Bay State Prison went on a hunger strike Friday to protest conditions they describe as inhumane.

Advocates for the prisoners at the Security Housing Unit said inmates are subjected to solitary confinement and forced interrogations — the latter as prison officials try to elicit information about gangs.  "The inmates see this strike as their only shot at trying to get improvements," said Carol Strickman, an attorney with the group Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, which represents some of the striking inmates.

A lawsuit filed in 1990 accused officials at Pelican Bay of abusing inmates.  A federal judge ruled in the inmates' favor in 1995 and ended the case in March after determining the state corrections department had made sufficient reforms to protect inmates from abuse by guards.

Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said additional restrictions on those prisoners are needed to reduce the influence of gangs.  However, officials denied that prisoners in the unit are kept in solitary confinement or subject to forced interrogations.  "We encourage them to walk away from that (gang) lifestyle," Thornton said. "But it's their choice."

Several dozen inmates in the Security Housing Unit declined to eat their morning meal on Friday, advocates said.  The unit holds about a third of the 3,100 inmates at the maximum-security prison.

State prison officials confirmed the strike, though they did not immediately know how many inmates were participating.

The Security Housing Unit segregates prisoners from the general population who have been determined to be prison gang members or have committed a serious crime while in prison.  About 4,000 of the 162,000 inmates in the state corrections system are housed in such units, which exist at three other prisons in addition to Pelican Bay.