On July 8, 2013 30,000 inmates in the custody of the California Department of

Corrections went on a hunger strike, complaining about their prison conditions and
the ongoing use of solitary confinement.

Days later Wilbert Rideau a journalist and author and having experienced being
imprisoned in the past , published the article , When Prisoners Protest , In The
New York Times . The article is a call to action for prisoner's rights and
rehabilitation.

The tone of the article is set with the eye opening emotion filled picture that is
posted along side the article . Rather than the picture the public always portrays of
inmates ; an inmate in an orange jumpsuit, behind bars, handcuffed hands, faced
down, the reader is presented with a black and white picture of handcuffed hands ,
raised up being linked together by stick figures.

This image invokes feelings of inequality, frustration and betrayal by the system.
These feelings lead the reader to believe the inmates are being oppressed by the
system and that the fights success solely relies on public involvement. While
Rideau may not have chosen which image was paired up with his article, this image
has a great impact along with the article.

Wilbert Rideau explains the reasons why prison protests happen, it goes into prison
conditions and inhumane use of solitary confinement and abuse of power by prison

authorities . Rideau calls for more communication between wardens and inmates, as
well as more rehabilitative opportunities to improve inmate's mental health.
Wilbert Rideau uses strong reasoning logically explaining the reasons protest's
occur. All while hitting the nail on all the emotions the writer would want the reader
to experience, to achieve the persuasion of the same views on the issues at hand.
Though his appeals to his own credibility, were not as strong. We cannot generalize
one person's experience and apply to all inmates facing the same situation.
Wilbert Rideau jumps into giving logical explanations as to why protest are in result
of his claims ," the typical inmate doesnt want trouble. He has little to gain and too
much to lose", he states that along with examples of what the inmates are losing ,
and goes into the logistics of organizing a protest. He continues on to his own
account of solitary confinement, logically backing up his claims that solitary
confinement is inhumane , when he states , "You lose your ability to make small
talk, even with the guard who shoves your meal through the slot in the door. You
live entirely in your head, for there is nothing else". He then logically explains his
proposed solution ," Protest's are generally done by men made desperate by the
lack of options to address their grievances. At the heart of the problem is a lack of
open communications and freedom of expression", baking up his claim that open
communication is needed. Once he proposes the solution to the reader , he give the
Louisiana State Penitentiary's success with said solution as an example. He then
states , "It has gone from being one of the bloodiest to one of the safest maximum
security prisons in America ", leaving the reader with the idea that he is absolutely
right . Closing with logical reasoning, as to why we need to be help the prisoner's
request for rehabilitative opportunities , " every year men from California's Pelican
Bay and other supermax prisons around the nation are released directly from the

vacuum of their cells into free society, to live and work among your loved ones",
leaving the reader with an uneasy eerie feeling regarding their safety and the safety
of their loved ones.
Rideau's appeals to the readers emotions , are very strong . Starting out with , " The
ways even a bystander to the most peaceful protest can be punished are limited
only by the imagination of the authorities", giving a sense of pity for the bystanders
and the idea of abuse of power by prison authorities. If his logical reasoning for
protest's didnt catch the readers attention , Rideau makes sure to prove the point
through emotion , "And yet, sometimes things get so bad that prisoners are
compelled to protest, with work stoppages , riots or hunger strikes". After stating his
credibility with solitary confinement , Rideau adds more emotion to the reader in
descriptive detail , " I can tell you that isolating a human being for years in a barren
cell the size of a small bathroom is the cruelest thing you can do to a person", the
emotion is so strong it blindsides the reader, to his logical appeals of the inhumane
use of solitary confinement.
At first glance , the reader gets a strong feel to Wilber Rideau's credibility . He
states several different examples backing up his claims , from the California State
Prison protest's , to the success of said solution in the Louisiana State Prison. Even
mentioning three separate individuals incarcerated in solitary confinement for
years on end , in result of abuse of power by prison authorities . But fails to show his
credibility , through his own account of solitary confinement . While the reader
cannot discredit , what Wilber Rideau went through and how he was affected by
solitary confinement mentally, one cannot generalize all inmates based on Rideaus
account . Who is he to say all inmates that face solitary confinement experience the

same effects? Without any studies backing his claim , how are we suppose to take
his word for it , that it affects everyone the same .
Even though the article states no studies regarding the deteriorating mental effects
of solitary confinement, with better organization of all the claims, more specifically
his claim for rehabilitative opportunities, it could have added to Wilbert Rideau's
credibility. Rideau does not add the claim for rehabilitative opportunities to improve
inmates mental health , until the closing. It feels thrown off , while it coincides with
everything leading up to it , He could have added to the impact and credibility by
mentioning the claim for rehabilitative opportunities alongside with his claims of the
use of inhumane solitary confinement and prison conditions as well as abuse of
power .