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| Washington state inmate refusing to eat |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 06/14/2004 |
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A man jailed over accusations of setting a fire that seriously burned his stepdaughter has not eaten in more than four months and is fighting efforts to force-feed him. Charles R. McNabb has not had solid food since early February, Spokane County jail commander Capt. Dick Collins said last Wednesday. He is apparently despondent over injuries the 16-year-old girl suffered in the fire at his estranged wife's home, Collins said. McNabb, who drinks water and occasionally coffee, weighs under 100 pounds, about 80 pounds less than when he was jailed about a year ago, Collins said. A judge has declared McNabb competent to assist his defense in his scheduled July 12 trial on one count of first-degree arson and six counts of first-degree assault. Hospitals won't feed him involuntarily unless he is judged mentally incompetent. A Superior Court judge ruled that involuntary feeding could be authorized if the inmate's condition worsens dramatically, but McNabb's civil lawyer has asked an appeals court to act quickly to stay that order. Collins said McNabb told jailers he did not know children were in his estranged wife's home and was despondent the girl was burned. The girl has been released from a hospital, Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said. Two adults and four children were inside the house on May 23, 2003, when someone used lantern fuel to set it ablaze. McNabb, 50, is being held on $500,000 bail. He is checked every 15 minutes under a suicide watch and is monitored several times a day by jail medical staff. |
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