The state Supreme Court has ruled that state prison officials can restrain and force-feed inmates to protect them from life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition.
The court ruled on Monday in the case of William Coleman, a 51-year-old prisoner at McDougall-Walker correctional institution who stopped eating in September 2007 to protest his conviction on what he called a fabricated rape charge.
His weight dropped from 237 pounds to 129 pounds over 13 months, and officials said they were forced to insert a feeding tube through his nose and into his stomach at least a dozen times.
Lawyers for the native of Liverpool, England said he's now accepting liquid nutrition and has returned to a normal weight.
They said the Connecticut Supreme Court is the first high court in any state to take up a challenge to prison force-feedings.
Among the state’s arguments in favor of force-feeding are to preserve life, prevent suicide, protect innocent third parties and maintain the orderly administration of the prison system.
The court ruled that these outweigh the individual’s right to bodily integrity.
