Obese Criminal Sues over Weight Loss in Jail

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"An obese U.S. inmate charged with murder in Arkansas is suing the county, claiming he lost more than 100 pounds due to the poor jailhouse menu. ... Laswell claims he weighed 413 pounds when he was jailed in September. He was arrested for fatally beating and stabbing a man, together with a co-defendant. He then set the victim's house on fire."

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Obese...ail_16890.html

[Snoopy50]

This guy is nuts, IMO. He should be thanking the prison system, not suing them! 3000 calories a day is nothing to poke fun at, the guy is clearly a slob who thinks he should be fed whatever he wants. NOT! He is in jail, for goodness sake, if he wanted to eat himself into oblivion, he should not have committed a crime! Idiot!!!

[Anakerie]

lol, I was just reading about this guy on The Smoking Gun... They even have a copy of his complaint there for all to see.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...1.html?cnn=yes

This guy is completely nuts... What is wrong with 3000 calories a day? If I ate that many calories every day, I'd end up as big as this jerk is!

If this guy hadn't allegedly murdered someone I'd be laughing right now.

As it stands, I have a smirk of disbelief on my face.

I just can't imagine him complaining. Like someone said, they are doing him a favor. I guess we are supposed to pay more for a big fatty to maintin his 400+ pounds. All I kept thinking was, good god, wonder what he was eating before he went in there if he's already lost 100 lbs eating 3,000 calories/day!

Doesn't he have a relative or friend to bring him extra food?

[Details]

I don't know if there is or is not a lawyer dumb enough to take this - but he's filed it himself. Probably something he cooked up out of boredom. I'd expect it to be dismissed out of hand.

But it makes for a funny story. The guy is getting what he should be eating, and of course he's losing weight. He's no longer getting ridiculous amounts of food.

[Jay]

Originally posted by snoodles [*]


Is there a lawyer who has or would really take this case? [/*]

You never know. I have read of some lawyers taking WILD cases before.

The Prisoner Litigation Reform Act of 1995, has curtailed frivilous lawsuits to a great extent.


If you read part of the complaint, it is hand printed, very sloppily I might add, # 1; and # 2, it basically lacks a "definite statement". The court is obligated to defer to the status of a Pro Se litigant, especially a prisoner, however, it does not mean any complaint filed is going to be treated with kid gloves by the court and it will bend over backwards to see Due Process is protected.

One one hand, although not specifically averred, he seems to be saying it is an 8th AM violation as cruel and unusal punishment to sustain a human on 3,000 calories a day?

Yet on another note he seems to be asking for a Declaratory Judgment that the caloric and or nutritional intake is a health risk??

The feds attorneys will know exactly how to Answer the complaint.

[Carol25]

Originally posted by Leather&Lace [*]I have always thought that killers in prison should live on bread and beans. That's it.

What a joke. I will be shocked if an attorney picks this one up.

Who cares what he thinks about the food!
JMO [/*]

Maybe the former judge who sued for millions over his suit?

[aubrey04]

Originally posted by spirit07 [*]I just can't imagine him complaining. Like someone said, they are doing him a favor. I guess we are supposed to pay more for a big fatty to maintin his 400+ pounds. All I kept thinking was, good god, wonder what he was eating before he went in there if he's already lost 100 lbs eating 3,000 calories/day! [/*]

What makes this even more ridiculous is that obese people have a tendency to acquire medical illnesses, such as diabetes , high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.

These illnesses require medical care and medication.

Not only is it ridiculous that tax payers should have to pay for his excessive amount of calories/food per day, but eventually --(if they don't already) they will have to pay for the medical care that is associated with obesity/illnesses.

What a crock. This man should be ashamed of himself.

[legalmania]

You can't fix stupid!!

I expect we won't hear much more about this one. The simple answer of "a certified nutritionist has approved the prison diet" should pretty much kill this one. Maybe the prison should bill him whatever weight loss clinics charge.

Sorry, me, I'm tired of hearing about people who've committed crimes like murder, rape, arson, and so on getting a free college education on MY tax dollars. They should get enough to live on, food, clothing, basic shelter. Anything else, give 'em some work to do. Stamp license plates, do SOMETHING productive for society, and earn the extras like TV and a college education.

The sense of entitlement drives me nuts.