The Alabama Department of Corrections has confirmed that incarcerated prison reform advocate Kenneth Shaun Traywick—also known as Swift Justice—ended his hunger strike at Bullock Correctional Facility last week after 35 days without food.
In a statement provided to APR, ADOC officials said that Traywick began eating last Thursday “following medical services reintroduction protocols.”
Traywick’s hunger strike was originally ignited by an incident that took place on Thursday, November 20, when an ADOC correctional officer pepper sprayed Traywick from behind, reportedly as retaliation for Traywick speaking out about the officer’s assault of a fellow inmate, Michael Rowser. Traywick’s strike subsequently developed into a call for general prison reform in Alabama, as he demanded a meeting with ADOC Commissioner John Hamm and an end to ADOC’s “retaliatory and excessive force practices.”
Over the course of the strike, Traywick’s family continually raised concerns over the lack of transparent communication from ADOC regarding Traywick’s condition and health status. Even with the strike now over, Traywick’s family continues to report a lack of transparency from ADOC regarding post-starvation recovery protocols, monitoring standards and oversight.
In their statement to APR, ADOC officials did not confirm whether Traywick ended his strike voluntarily or if nutrition was reintroduced as part of a medical intervention. ADOC also failed to provide any additional information regarding the circumstances which led to the end of Traywick’s strike, nor did they clarify what specific nutritional intake Traywick has received since ending his hunger strike.
APR also asked officials on several occasions if Commissioner Hamm plans to meet with Traywick to address the concerns that originally initiated the hunger strike. ADOC did not respond to that line of questioning.
