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| Iowa Inmate Continues Hunger Strike |
| By Iowa City Press-Citizen |
| Published: 11/07/2005 |
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A Johnson County Jail inmate who went on a hunger strike in Iowa nearly two weeks ago said he would rather starve to death than spend the rest of his life behind bars. "I'm just really scared to go to prison," John Ashley Wenman said Thursday in Johnson County District Court. "I'm just basically scared. I have a lot of anxiety over it." Wenman, 28, appeared in court as jail officials sought to win court approval to force-feed him. Wenman has been denying food since Oct. 23, but said he ate part of a vegetarian meal Wednesday evening. Judge Patrick Grady heard the testimony, but has yet to issue a ruling. Wenman testified Thursday that he wasn't hungry, mainly because he feared life in prison if convicted of the first-degree kidnapping charge against him. Wenman also faces second-offense domestic assault causing injury and failure to appear in court charges. "Do you want to die?" assistant Johnson County attorney Andrew Chappell asked Wenman. "Or spend the rest of my life in prison? Yes." Wenman said. Jail administrator Capt. David Wagner said he was worried about liability issues if Wenman were to starve himself while in custody. He also said he thought Wenman was simply trying to manipulate jail staff and that Wenman's behavior might encourage similar acts among other inmates if they see that Wenman got his way. "We can't let inmates dictate what they want, when they want it," Wagner said. "It would disrupt operations." About two weeks ago, Wenman requested vegetarian meals, Wagner said. Although the request wasn't immediately granted, Wagner said Wenman eventually was granted a vegetarian diet but still refused to eat. "He told me if we gave him a vegetarian pizza and Diet Coke, he would eat," Wagner said. Defense lawyer Pat Ingram said there was no legal basis for the state to intervene and asked Grady to set a second hearing on the matter following further evaluation of Wenman at University Hospitals. However, Chappell said because Wenman was in custody, Wenman's rights to privacy need to be balanced with the state's rights to protect him from harm. Chappell said Wenman also faced serious crimes and must be kept alive to face those charges in court. Chappell called Wenman's hunger strike "suicide by starvation." "We have an interest in preserving lives but especially the lives that have been entrusted to us in our facility," Chappell said. "If he's allowed to starve to death, we can't do that." Wenman was arrested in April on the kidnapping and assault charges. According to Iowa City Police reports, Wenman slapped a woman in the face causing pain and a red mark. He also spat in the woman's face. On July 13, 2004, Wenman confined a woman to a residence and raped her. He was arrested in Florida in April and booked in Johnson County a month later. |
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