NCJ Number
190111
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 285-296
Editor(s)
Tony Fowles,
David Wilson
Date Published
August 2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examined the case law and considered the impact of the Human Rights Act of 1998 on the force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners.
Abstract
The decision to allow the force-feeding of some prisoners raised many complex ethical and legal issues. As suicide was illegal, early case law sanctioned force-feeding. However, it raised questions of whether death by hunger-strike was suicide, or simply an exercise of the right to self-determination. Recent case law provided a mixed message. Some cases recognized the duty of the prison authorities to intervene, for others it was merely a power, and a third category emphasized self-determination. American case law failed to give clear guidance on the constitutionality of force-feeding. This article examined the approach of the United Kingdom courts, considered American case law, and assessed the impact of the Human Rights Act of 1998 on prisoner hunger-strikes and force-feeding. Under the HRA 1998, greater certainty was required in the law, rules and procedures for determining the prison authority response to hunger-strikers. However, the law was in confusion from a lack of clear definition, the assumption that the matter can be resolved by reference to medico-legal principles, and the extent to which paternalism and perceived State interests were allowed to prevail over self-determination. This constitutes a compelling case for a clear law that protects the right to bodily integrity and carefully restricts the ability of the State to interfere. References