300-pound inmate complains Ark. jail doesn't feed him well

Yahoo ^ | April 27, 2008

[COUNTrecount]

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - An inmate awaiting trial on a murder charge is suing the county, complaining he has lost more than 100 pounds because of the jailhouse menu.

Broderick Lloyd Laswell says he isn't happy that he's down to 308 pounds after eight months in the Benton County jail. He has filed a federal lawsuit complaining the jail doesn't provide inmates with enough food.

According to the suit, Laswell weighed 413 pounds when he was jailed in September. Police say he and a co-defendant fatally beat and stabbed a man, then set his home on fire.

"On several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out," Laswell wrote in his complaint. "About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again."

But Laswell then goes on to complain that he undertakes little vigorous activity.

"If we are in a small pod all day (and) do next to nothing for physical exercise, we should not lose weight," the suit says. "The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally being starved to death."

The suit also asks that the county be ordered to serve hot meals. The jail has served only cold food for years.

The meals, provided through Aramark Correctional Institution Services, average 3,000 calories a day, jail Capt. Hunter Petray told The Morning News of northwest Arkansas for a story Saturday.

A typical Western diet consists of 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day.

Laswell's suit was filed without a lawyer in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

[COUNTrecount]

[Polybius]

Can't he just eat his cellmate?

[Eternal_Bear]

best thing that ever happened to him!

[Stepan12]

Lose weight like that? Maybe I should put myself in jail /s

[happinesswithoutpeace]

rofl

[SandRat]

How do you think he managed to stop at 308#s?

[dangus]

Aramark made my college’s food, too. I was amaxed to hear that usually the “Freshman Fifteen” refers to fifteen pounds GAINED the first year.

[Clintonfatigued]

“complaining he has lost more than 100 pounds because of the jailhouse menu.”

A number of inmates pay big money to achieve that kind of weight loss. Broderick Lloyd Laswell got a bargain.

[South40]

He’s not at Burger King; he can’t have it his way.

[Rebelbase]

I hear they're only allowed 2 rolls of toilet paper per month.

[Man50D]

He should consider himself fortunate he is not in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s tent city prison near Phoenix where they're fed green bologna sandwiches.

[Harrius Magnus]

Unfortunately, I can imagine many that would come to his defense. It could be a good watershed test question: Yes, I believe he has a case/is entitled/is malnourished/is a victim/ cannot get a break/the man is keeping him down...

Step into extermination chamber.

[fanfan]

[Poetgal26]

Good grief, he probably could miss a few meals too!

[RichInOC]

How do satirists manage to make a living when reality is more ridiculous than anything they can make up?

[DoughtyOne]

I find it difficult (excuse me while I take two more bites) to disagree (forgive me for taking another bite) with this (excuse me while I go in the other room to get more food) person.  His (Excuse me while I eat five more bites) reasoning sounds (excuse me while have have some more meat and potatoes, five more encheladas, one apple pie, one cherry pie, half a walnut pie, four sandwiches, two chickens, a seventeen pound turkey.  It has been an hour and a half since lunch, and supper won't be served for another hour.) about right to me.  Belch!

Seriously, it sounds like the Bentonville, Arkansas Diet is working just fine.  Kudos to the prison staff.

[LibWhacker]

There's always the

[kcvl]

19-year-old Broderick "Brody" Lloyd Laswell of Farmington are also charged with aggravated robbery in the August 30th death of Randy Walker of Garfield.

Authorities say the suspects burned Walker's home near Garfield after the slaying. Autopsy results showed Walker died of blunt force trauma to the head and torso, and stab wounds to the chest and neck.

Officials say Lacy confessed and that the culprits had sought to steal guns from Walker.

[lilylangtree]

Keep him in jail longer and he’ll lose more weight. This is a good thing. I suspect he uses his weight to intimidate the other prisoners, and that every commode he comes in contact with needs replacing.

[Enchante]

Just feed him limited quantities of arugula and granola — he’ll lose weight and all the leftists should applaud his wonderful diet, Obama most of all.

[kcvl]

Broderick Lloyd Laswell

[eyedigress]

Discipline is a bitch.

[Gay State Conservative]

Five’ll get ya ten that he wants to remain “too fat to execute”.

[RichInOC]

Where’s Lee Ermey when you really need him?

[tang-soo]

“Biggest Loser - Lockup Edition”

[muir_redwoods]

Great progress. At that rate, in another 2 years or so, the sumbich will disappear altogether

[sonic109]

Hang the fat bastard , he won’t be worried about his weight then.

[SIDENET]

Fat boy is lucky I’m not running that place.

[Westlander]

[Dallas]

Lettuce alone. We're human beans.
© maggief

[eyedigress]

I don’t know his crime, but jail is probably better than Guthy-Renkor when it comes to self-control.

[Poetgal26]

That is one big burger!!!
LOL!

[TheWasteLand]

Police say he and a co-defendant fatally beat and stabbed a man, then set his home on fire.

He needs to lose weight so he won't be so hungry. I've heard the guillotine results in impressive immediate weight loss, and does wonders for controlling appetite after the fact.

[Publius6961]

Well, I believe him!

They are obviously feeding him too much!

D'OH!

[scott7278]

He’s not starving to death...he was simply taking in 10,000 less calories per week than he needed to maintain his weight. Over the course of an eight-month period, that would be a normal amount of weight loss.

I hope his lawyer decides to do the math before making the decision to move this forward.

[Verginius Rufus]

He's losing almost 40 pounds a month on a 3000-calorie-a-day diet with minimal exercise? He could make a fortune by publishing The Bentonville Jailhouse Diet.

[Morgana]

I gotta wonder if he is innocent of the crime. He may have been to fat to have done it!

[primeval patriot]

Fat boy is lucky I’m not running that place.

I would introduce him to the burnt toast and black coffee diet.

[eyedigress]

Did you see the SP episode on that? heres a clip

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/165196/

[BipolarBob]

This guys closer to you. What say we spring for some pizza? With the “special” weight reducing mushrooms?

[skr]

How many calories are necessary just to sit in a cell most of the day, really?

[skr]

Someone at the Sheriff’s might be happy to switch places.

[org.whodat]

If I was in charge his tube steak sandwich three time a day would really skinny his as+ down.

[buck jarret]

Charming.

[Tanniker Smith]

You know how much Jenny Craig charges for that kind of weight loss?? And he got it for free! And he's not even a spokesperson for anything like Queen Latifah or Valerie Bertinelli . . . or Jared . . .

[Clintonfatigued]

WHOOPS!!!!!!!!

I meant to say a number of PEOPLE pay big money for that kind of weight loss.

Maybe this can be turned into a weight-loss program.

[Natural Law]

"Can't he just eat his cellmate?"

I've heard a lot of that goes on there.

[processing please hold]

Lose weight like that? Maybe I should put myself in jail

That may be the only diet I've never tried.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Hang him and he'll stop complaining and save the state money. Aiding his diet and weight loss will be a plus.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I think it was former sherrif ANDY LEE who started the cold meals at Bentonville jail.
Many want him as sherrif again.