The starvation death of a prisoner at the Kentucky State Penitentiary is now raising questions from at least one state legislator. Greenville State Rep. Brent Yonts says he will hold hearings later this year on the circumstances surrounding the death of 57-year-old James Kenneth Embry in January.
“According to the paper reports, this guy missed 35 of 36 meals – refused to eat or turned them down,” Yonts told WKU Public Radio. “Well, that’s a dead giveaway that there’s a problem there. And particularly when he also had lost – I think the paper said about 30 pounds – or at least lost a good deal of weight.”
The Associated Press broke the storyearlier this week about the hunger-strike death. The report says Embry had been dealing with mental health issues for much of last year. The AP reports the prison’s lead doctor has since been fired; a contract nurse was banned from the facility and two medical professionals were placed on leave.
“It’s a concern to me as a legislator serving on the committees that have jurisdiction over corrections. It’s a concern to me as a citizen that we are not taking better care of inmates when we are required by law in the constitution to do so, ” said Yonts.