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Fasting inmate regains 7 lbs.
By Sue Weibezahl, September 9, 2006

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A jail inmate on a fast for more than a month is still on a feeding tube but has gained some weight, he said this week.
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John Murtari, 49, was sentenced July 31 for not paying child support and has refused to eat since.
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He dropped more than 25 pounds the first two weeks but gained about 7 pounds since a feeding tube was inserted Aug. 10, according to Murtari and jail officials.
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“I’m still not taking any solid food, but I have a little juice and broth at mealtimes,” Murtari said.
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He also gets eight 250-calorie breakfast drinks through the tube each day. “I feel much more normal now. I’m more alert. My energy level is good, and things have stabilized,” he said.
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Murtari owes more than $60,000 to his ex-wife and said he can’t afford to pay because the child support figure was calculated based on an income far higher than what he now earns.
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Murtari hopes his decision to refuse food brings attention to noncustodial parents, many of whom he says do not get a fair shake from the court system.
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Originally housed at Jamesville penitentiary, Murtari was moved to the Justice Center jail in Syracuse because of its medical unit and proximity to local hospitals. He is now being held in the jail infirmary.
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Jail officials have stopped trying to persuade him to eat, Murtari said, because, “They understand the depth of my resolve. It takes quite a bit of conviction to take it so far that your vitals are affected, but I’m very comfortable with this. I have no regrets at all.”
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Richard Carbery, chief of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office custody division, said jail officials never spent much time trying to get Murtari to eat.
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“Our procedure is to bring them the tray,” Carbery said. “We don’t harangue them like you do with a kid, ‘Hey, eat your peas.’ These people are adults.”
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With time off for good behavior, Murtari is expected to be released in December.
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Click image for the Shared Parenting Works
webpage dedicated to John Murtari and parents’ civil rights
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* If the jail won’t let him take late
calls I guess you’ll be stuck with me.
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