A judge this week authorized New York’s corrections department to force-feed inmate David Sweat, a convicted murderer who escaped from an upstate New York prison in 2015, after he staged a hunger strike that began last month, according to court documents.
Wednesday’s ruling from Judge Robert Muller in Warren County authorizes medical personnel to force-feed him through “external or parenteral routes” if he refuses to eat, and to treat him for medical problems, including any complications from the feeding.
It also orders Sweat to “cooperate in the methods of forced feeding, hydration and necessary medical treatment,” and to cooperate with medical personnel involved in drawing blood or obtaining his vital signs. And it authorizes the department to use physical restraints, medication and chemical sedation to feed him and give him other care, if necessary.
Sweat’s attorney, Matthew Bliss, would not comment on the ruling.
A correctional facility superintendent had petitioned the court to force-feed Sweat, saying Sweat started a hunger strike on or about March 25 after being transferred between northern New York correctional facilities. He also had a history of hunger strikes, according to the petition.
Sweat was transferred from Shawangunk Correctional Facility to Great Meadow Correctional Facility, according to records.
A doctor who performed an assessment on Sweat earlier this month determined it was in his best interest to be fed by way of a nasogastric tube or gastrostomy tube, to have fluids administered intravenously, and to have “necessary examinations performed,” such as weight-taking and drawing of blood, according to an affidavit filed April 14. The doctor also requested “the use of physical restraint or medication to calm the patient, if needed.”
Sweat was also evaluated by the state Office of Mental Health, which determined he was “alert and oriented” and “psychiatrically stable at this time,” according to the affidavit.
He told the OMH he would continue his hunger strike “until he is transferred to another facility further from Clinton Correctional Facility and closer to home,” according to the affidavit.
Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility with inmate Richard Matt, sparking a massive manhunt in 2015. Matt was shot and killed by officers in the third week of the search.