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Pelican Bay inmate Todd Ashker a legal force behind prison hunger strike
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Jul 29, 2013
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Pelican Bay inmate Todd Ashker a legal force behind prison hunger strike
Convicted killer Todd Ashker has been described as the legal brains behind the California prison hunger strike. Journalist Paige St. John wrote a profile of Todd Ashker, and she joins the show with more.
A photograph of Todd Ashker taken on February 1, 2007 provided by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
A photograph of Todd Ashker taken on February 1, 2007 provided by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
)

Convicted killer Todd Ashker has been described as the legal brains behind the California prison hunger strike. Journalist Paige St. John wrote a profile of Todd Ashker, and she joins the show with more.

Convicted killer Todd Ashker has been described as the legal brains behind the California prison hunger strike.

Along with three other inmates representing the Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia and the Black Guerrilla Family, Ashker originally called for the mass protest, and has been instrumental in keeping it going.

He's earned a paralegal degree while behind bars, and has worked on more than 50 federal lawsuits against the California prison system since 1987.

Journalist Paige St. John wrote a profile of Todd Ashker, and she joins the show with more.