BANGOR (AP) – A judge Thursday upheld the constitutionality of his ruling that a Penobscot County Jail inmate who has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month can be forcibly fed.

James Emerson’s lawyer argued that his client, who would prefer to die rather than go to prison, has the right to refuse medical care.

Emerson, 23, who has lost more than 20 pounds while refusing most food and water, has been held at the jail since April on charges of theft, burglary and probation violations. He also faces a federal weapons charge.

After being authorized by the court to have Emerson force-fed, Sheriff Glenn Ross ordered the inmate transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center last weekend. But staff members at the hospital, which is not subject to the order, refused to insert a feeding tube, saying they cannot treat people against their will.

Ross has maintained that he is responsible for inmates’ health, and his lawyer said the case should be no different than if Emerson were trying to take his life by other means.

“If Mr. Emerson was trying to slash himself with a razor or trying to hang himself from a light fixture with a t-shirt, the sheriff would have an obligation to intervene, and we think he has the same obligation here with a man that’s purposely trying to hurt himself,” said Bruce Mallonee, attorney for the sheriff’s department.

Emerson was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Friday on the federal charge. His lawyer, Dale Thistle, said that if Emerson accepts a plea offer, he will likely be taken to Fort Devens, Mass., for a mental health evaluation before going to prison.

Ross said that if Emerson refuses the plea offer and remains at the jail, he will have the inmate re-examined and, if warranted, brought to a hospital to be force-fed.