Using cellphones, inmates in as many of 10 of Georgia's correctional facilities have successfully organized a peaceful protest against what they see as cruel and unusual punishment.

The prisoners acquired phones from guards, enabling them to plan their grassroots demonstration.

"The protest began Thursday, but inmates said that organizers had spent months building a web of disparate factions and gangs — groups not known to cooperate — into a unified coalition using text messaging and word of mouth," The New York Times reported.