The notorious supermax to our north landed at number six on Mother Jones' list of the 10 worst prisons in the country. The magazine has done some of the best reporting on our country's prison system over the last couple of years, including this disturbing investigative piece on Pelican Bay from former hostage Shane Bauer. After visiting the Secure Housing Units where prisoners are kept in solitary confinement for 22 1/2 hours per day, Bauer concluded that conditions there are worse than what he experienced as a hostage in Iran.

The Journal reported on the prison back in 2011, shortly after SHU inmates launched a hunger strike that soon spread across the state prison system. Pelican Bay prisoners are planning to resume their hunger strike in July.