Olha Yarynich, Contributing Photographer

When Jacky Robinson Jr. ended his 24-day hunger strike for better prison conditions on Oct. 9, he was optimistic that the Connecticut Department of Correction would make the long-term changes he had requested. 

Robinson assumed he would not get to experience the improved conditions. DOC Commissioner Angel Quiros had secured Robinson a transfer to his home state of Ohio, which would allow him to see his father for the first time in eight years.

Nearly two weeks later, Robinson is still incarcerated at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Conn. None of the promised big picture changes have been implemented, he said, and he doesn’t know when his transfer to Ohio will happen.

“I need some answers,” Robinson said, expressing frustration about the DOC’s lack of communication about when he’ll be transferred to Ohio. “Being in limbo like this, I feel like I’m off balance. … I’m not sure of what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen.”

Ashley McCarthy, the DOC’s director of external affairs, told the News that the timeline for Robinson’s transfer has been kept confidential for security reasons.

Aims of the hunger strike

Robinson, Myers and four other incarcerated men launched the hunger strike on Sept. 16, with a seventh prisoner joining them on the following day. The hunger strikers’ demands included improved medical treatment and mental health services for prisoners, fewer prison lockdowns and shakedowns and increased communication between prisoners and the outside world. 

By Sept. 20, Robinson and Myers were the sole remaining strikers. The hunger strike took a physical toll on the men: both were admitted to the prison infirmary on Sept. 23, and they each lost over 20 pounds during the strike’s first two weeks. 

A Connecticut judge granted the DOC a temporary injunction on Sept. 26 to force-feed Robinson if necessary in preventing permanent physical harm or death. Though the judge scheduled a hearing for Oct. 8 to determine if the injunction would be made permanent, the DOC asked for the hearing to be postponed by four weeks. 

Robinson and Myers met with Attorney DeVaughn Ward — Connecticut’s recently appointed interim ombudsman, who is tasked with providing independent oversight of the DOC — three times during the strike. 

In addition to their broader demands, the men outlined individual requests. These included Robinson’s desire to be transferred to Ohio and Myers’ hope to be moved to a single cell for his sleep apnea. 

On Oct. 8, Ward provided the men with written agreements to several of their personal requests, prompting them to end the strike the next day.

McCarthy noted that the DOC needs to ensure Robinson is in a healthy state before they transfer him to Ohio. As Robinson also participated in a hunger strike with similar demands from June 7 to 20, his weight and muscle mass have fluctuated significantly in the past four months.

Former hunger strikers’ allegations of DOC retaliation, unfulfilled promises

According to Robinson, MacDougall-Walker has had five lockdowns since the hunger strike ended. The first lockdown, which lasted 17 hours, began right after the men were released from the infirmary on Oct. 11, Robinson said.

The prison also had lockdowns on four separate days that following week, totaling nearly 18 hours, according to Robinson. Both Myers and Robinson described the lockdowns as the DOC’s “retaliation” against them for the hunger strike.

Connecticut’s PROTECT Act, signed into law in 2022, prohibits the DOC from carrying out more than 24 cumulative hours worth of lockdowns in a prison in a 30-day period. MacDougall-Walker had almost 35 hours of lockdowns in the last 12 days, Robinson said, emphasizing that the frequent lockdowns defy the law.

“Getting legislation passed is one thing; getting the people to abide by the law is another thing,” Barbara Fair, a community organizer who pushed for the passage of the PROTECT Act, told the News. “The Department of Correction is like a rogue agency… it seems they can pretty much do what they want to do, and nobody holds them accountable.” 

MacDougall-Walker has not had any full facility lockdowns since June 10, according to McCarthy. 

Ward said the recent MacDougall-Walker lockdowns were unrelated to Myers and Robinson’s hunger strike. 

“An unfortunate reality of being incarcerated is that the facilities sometimes have security issues where they find contraband, where there’s an assault or a number of other incidents that require that the prison restrict movement around the facility,” he said. 

Robinson and Myers also mentioned several instances of DOC neglect, which they see as retribution for their involvement in the hunger strike.

Robinson found his cell in a “disgusting” state when he returned to it on Oct. 11 after spending 19 days in the infirmary. The DOC typically hires incarcerated people to clean prison units, according to McCarthy. 

“There were bugs in here,” Robinson said. “The floor was caked with dirt. When I wiped the floor down with a white rag, the rag was black. It was yellow and black stains all over the walls, trash everywhere.”

Since the prison was locked down shortly after Robinson and Myers returned to their cells, Robinson said he had to borrow cleaning supplies from a neighbor.

Robinson also asked DOC staff to add $100 to his prisoner trust fund so he could buy food from the prison commissary. But when staff did not submit his commissary slip, he had to ask a prisoner who worked in the commissary to complete the money transfer on his behalf.

Myers was placed in segregation on Sept. 18, since DOC policy states that if multiple prisoners are on a hunger strike, they must be separated, according to McCarthy. His property was confiscated when he was transferred to the segregated unit.

Though Myers was able to reclaim his property when he left segregation on Sept. 23, he did not receive his TV, which he had paid for out of pocket. Myers said he had still not received the TV as of Monday despite its return being promised to him before he and Robinson ended the hunger strike.

Ward said Myers received the TV through an exchange with a fellow prisoner, rather than buying it from the commissary. Since the TV’s identification information had been removed, DOC officials consider it contraband.

“Some of the stuff that they perceive as retaliatory, it really isn’t,” Ward said. “It’s really just standard procedure in prison.”

Robinson and Myers reached out to Ward about their concerns shortly after the strike ended, but they did not receive responses until Monday afternoon. The men were frustrated by Ward’s lack of communication, which contrasted with his willingness to meet with them in person during the strike.

Though Fair said she was disappointed that Ward did not respond to the men’s messages for over a week, she pointed out that he was likely swamped with other work. Ward assumed his role as interim ombudsman on Sept. 23.

“I don’t have a staff,” Ward said. “I have very limited resources at this point. And so, other incarcerated folks’ issues have taken priority, because I spent a great deal of time working with Mr. Myers and Mr. Robinson, and their issues are not emergent.”

Robinson is willing to go on another hunger strike if DOC officials do not clarify when he’ll be transferred to Ohio. Though Myers said he shares Robinson’s feelings of frustration, he has not considered whether he would go back on strike.

Both men expressed frustration and anger at the DOC’s lack of responsiveness to their concerns since they ended the hunger strike.

“Getting off [the strike] means that we’re back to normal, and we don’t have a voice anymore,” Myers said.

MacDougall-Walker currently houses 1,472 incarcerated people.