Inmate: dialysis cannot be forced

Maryland's highest court has ruled that a terminally ill state prison inmate cannot be forced to undergo kidney dialysis.

The Court of Appeals ruled Monday in the case of Troy Reid, who is serving a 40-year sentence for first-degree rape at the Jessup Correctional Institute.

The court rejected the state's arguments that allowing Reid to refuse treatment would undermine security and discipline, and endanger the ethics of the medical profession. Lower courts have taken the same position.

Reid claims he is dubious of the need for dialysis.

His lawyer is former Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stuart Simms. Simms tells The (Baltimore) Daily Record that Reid has been advised that his decision is risky but is prepared to accept the consequences.

-- Associated Press