BANGOR (AP) – A Penobscot County Jail inmate ended a four-week hunger strike when he ate a peanut butter sandwich on Saturday followed by eggs and toast, canned pears and two glasses of juice on Sunday.

James Emerson, 23, lost more than 25 pounds after going on the hunger strike. Emerson said he would rather starve to death than go to prison.

The decision puts to rest the controversy over whether Emerson should be force-fed or be allowed to die in jail of starvation or dehydration, said Penobscot County Sheriff Glen Ross.

A Superior Court judge ruled in late October that Emerson could be forced to take intravenous nourishment if he persisted in his slow-motion suicide attempt. But local hospitals resisted the order, saying they were legally and ethically bound to respect the patient’s wishes unless he was found mentally incompetent or incapable of making his wishes known.

Emerson’s attorney sought to have the original order overturned on the grounds that forced feeding would constitute a violation of his client’s right to privacy, but Judge Andrew Mead denied the motion on Friday.

Emerson likely would have been taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center early this week, though the hospital had not indicated any change in its position on the matter.

Emerson didn’t give any specific reason for changing his mind about eating, Ross said. During the hunger strike, he took occasional sips of water and juice.

His request for food came after a visit from his mother, Penny Emerson of Bangor.

“I told him he was starting to look pretty bad and that I was afraid he’d do permanent damage to his health,” she said. “He said it was no longer his mission to kill himself and that he would ask for a sandwich after I left.”

Emerson has been held since April at the jail, where he’s charged with theft, burglary, and probation violations. He also faces a weapons charge in U.S. District Court.

Penny Emerson said her son feels hopeless about his future. After he was released in April from Maine State Prison, where he served about four years for armed robbery, it was only a few weeks before he had lost his job and resumed criminal behaviors, she said.

People trying to rebuild their lives after serving a prison term need all the help they can get, she said.

“They need employment services, guidance, a place to stay while they get headed in the right direction,” she said. “The way it is now, they just get thrown out on the street again. They could just as well get thrown into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-11-07-05 0924EST

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