Portland Phoenix reporter Lance Tapley is the first to break news about a hunger strike at Maine's Supermax prison. Posted on ThePhoenix.com, the news comes soon after an inmate of Maine State Prison's solitary confinement unit committed suicide. Following two more suicide attempts and an ensuing crackdown, an undisclosed number of prisoners have refused to eat in protest of conditions. Earlier this year, Tapley won an AltWeekly Award for his coverage of abuse at the prison, and The Phoenix has covered the escalating bedlam there over the past year.
