Prison inmate goes on weeklong hunger strike

EBENSBURG - Inmate Robert Palmer at the State Correctional Institution at Cresson, serving time for burglary, has enough problems.

Getting him to eat shouldn't be one of them, prison officials say.

When Palmer went on a weeklong hunger strike earlier this month, it attracted prison officials' attention.

While legal papers apparently got the 46-year-old to start eating ''some'' things again, Palmer has a hearing Monday morning before Cambria County Judge David Tulowitzki to ensure he continues.

Palmer has a history of mental health issues and has been diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes. He began refusing medications for the ailments when he started his unexplained hunger strike Aug. 1, court documents show.

Prison officials obtained a temporary court injunction, allowing them to force Palmer to eat and take medication if necessary. Tulowitzki lifted the injunction Tuesday after meeting with prison legal counsel, who indicated that Palmer has been more cooperative recently.

''We get these cases sometimes. Someone gets bent out of shape for whatever reason, and all of a sudden, they stop eating,'' said attorney Robert MacIntyre, attorney for the Department of Corrections based in Camp Hill.

Often, MacIntyre said, inmates with lengthy sentences stop eating and some do it to get ''a day outside'' in court. But Palmer's time at the prison is almost up. He should complete his maximum sentence in December.

''I don't know what's pushing him,'' MacIntyre said. ''He wouldn't tell us."

Mirror Staff Writer David Hurst is at 946-7457.