Posted on 12/19/2005 8:46:40 AM PST by beaversmom
Stephen Philip Marshall, like most Americans, will be offered turkey and stuffing today.
But Marshall, 20, accused of eco-sabotage and housed in the Justice Center jail, may not eat much of his Thanksgiving dinner. Since he was put in jail Aug. 31, he has asked for vegan meals: no meat, eggs or dairy.
Jail officials, however, have turned him down. The jail's kitchen provides custom meals only for religious or medical reasons. Marshall cites no religious conviction for his vegan diet but rather his beliefs against animal cruelty.
Marshall is accused of plotting to blow up trucks and equipment belonging to Morse Bros., which he claimed is polluting a stream in Washington County. He has a Dec. 6 trial date in federal court.
His beef with the jail helps illustrate how food has tormented corrections facilities.
"It's a huge problem," said Lt. Michael Shults, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, which operates the county jails. "There's always somebody coming in and saying, 'I can't eat that.' Once you give someone one thing and somebody else another, we're running a full scale buffet, which is very expensive."
As of Friday, the county was providing 139 special diets for about 10 percent of the total jail population. Religious diets include one kosher, 17 halal and 44 vegetarian or vegan meals. Other special diets meet medical needs. Shults said a panel of chaplains, including Muslim and Buddhist clerics, helps screen religious dietary requests based on documented practice. "Portland is a very diverse community," Shults said. "We decided to go out and ask for help."
Shults said the special diets are expensive. A kosher meal, for example, costs $5. The typical jail meal is 50 cents.
Shults also said sticking to one menu helps keep the jail in order. Differences among inmate culinary inclinations have escalated from food fights to lawsuits in jails across the nation.
"Being fair and consistent is the key to running a jail," Shults said. "When you're dealing with predators, and one person gets something another person is not getting, assaults occur, riots occur."
Marshall's attorney would not allow his client to comment. But Chantel Guidry, a Lawrence, Kan.-based member of the prisoner support network Anarchist Black Cross, is leading a letter-writing campaign to get Marshall his vegan diet. She has been corresponding with Marshall and is convinced of his sincerity.
"I find it hard to believe everyone in prison would suddenly want vegan meals," she said. "We're a meat-based society."
Marshall is surviving on whatever vegan items come his way on his meal tray, Guidry said. She has traded about a dozen letters with Marshall for months and said she is worried his health will deteriorate.
"It is not necessary that Mr. Marshall lose a great deal of weight and risk his good health just because he is not a member of an accepted religion," Guidry wrote in a letter dated Monday to the Justice Center jail captain.
Shults did not know if Marshall had lost weight since coming to jail.
"He seems to be fine," he said.
Boaz Herzog: 503-412-7072; boazherzog@news.oregonian.com
Awesome!!!! or "Have it Your Way"
Give him the vegan MREs.
How I miss the good old days where they would have just thrown this dweeb into th hole for 30 days on bread and water.
I would ask for a steak every night...New York Strip...medium rare please....and not served to soon after my salad...and I like whole wheat bread....if I didn't get it...it must be TORTURE
I bet his nickname in the real world was "Mr. ham and cheese on rye." but likes to stick it to "the Man".
"It is not necessary that Mr. Marshall lose...just because he is not a member of an accepted religion," Guidry wrote.
Got that right -- Mr. Marshall is a member of an UNACCEPTABLE religion which believes the works of Mankind are an evil imposed upon guiltless Mother Gaia, and therefore punishable at will by Marshall and his co-religionists. Make him eat hot dogs and moon pies...two of humanity's finest creations!
You can bet the ACLU will find a way so this creep can get all the rabit food he wants.
haha very true. That back strap is mine! screw him!
I see that there is a green-bean casserole for the main course. And green bean casserole soup, with a nice green bean casserole tacos as an appetizer...and green bean casserole Flambe for dessert.
"As of Friday, the county was providing 139 special diets for about 10 percent of the total jail population. Religious diets include one kosher, 17 halal.."
Wait a minute! What about the seperation of church and state? Why isn't this considered a gvt establishment of religion?
It sure must be nice to be able to have your cake and eat it too.
"We're a meat-based society."
LOL! I'm sure that line is spoken with some frequency in prison... Right after "Bend over".
Good one!
Your comments remind of the story about two dog owners. One complained about the high cost of dog food. The other responded that he fed his dog turnips, and saved money. The first guy said, "My dog wouldn't eat turnips." The second replied, "Mine wouldn't either....for the first 6 weeks." Give him a choice-- eat or don't. We really don't care.
Bread and water.
Hay folks, were talking jail here, it's not supposed to be a five star resort. It's punishment that's way they are there. Bread and water for those that don't like the daily meals. Amen.
I notice that all these vegans seem to be really young. So I am curious, do any vegans survive to old age on this diet?
Starve, punk. Or eat your styrofoam plate.
How 'bout some nice tree bark? It's all natural and rich in fiber.
Where in the constitution are you guaranteed a religiously prescribed meal if you are incarcerated? Is this in the secret recipe amendments?
In my opinion, everyone in jail should get exactly the same food. If you want to have kosher week or veggie week fine, but the only special cuisine I approve of is the last meal for those about to be executed.
Yeah, he'll get some "stuffing", alright;))
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