A HUTHWAITE father who starved himself to death after killing his newly-wed daughter admitted he deserved to suffer, an inquest was told on Tuesday.
Terry Rodgers went on hunger-strike while on remand in Lincoln Prison after being charged with murdering 23-year-old Chanel Taylor.
He began eating again when he was sent to a psychiatric hospital for a six-month assessment but stopped once more upon his return to jail.
Former Lincoln Prison governor Lynne Saunders told the inquest it was illegal to force-feed an inmate considered to be of sound mind.
But if the prisoner was transferred to a psychiatric hospital he was deemed incapable of making his own decisions and could be fed, she said.
Ms Saunders, who spoke to him about his declining health on a daily basis, said Rodgers once told her: "I don't deserve not to be in pain."
Staff at first left food for him inside his cell in the jail's healthcare wing, but it was later decided this represented a breach of his human rights.
Ms Saunders told an inquest jury: "I think it would be illegal for us to force food on him. It is not within our remit to force-feed prisoners.
"It can be done if someone is detained under the Mental Health Act. But Terry was a remand prisoner, and it would not be for us to do that."
She said Rodgers made clear he intended to starve himself to death, adding: "He was quite determined to follow his wishes to end his life.
"He aged about 20 years in six months. It was quite remarkable. When I last saw him, two or three days before he died, he was incredibly thin and very frail."
According to the Human Rights Act, force-feeding a hunger-striker or even leaving food in his cell constitutes 'degrading treatment or torture'.
Police began the hunt for Rodgers in July 2004 after Chanel was found dead at her New Street home in Huthwaite home shortly after she and her husband Lee (22) returned from a Mexican honeymoon.
Britain's most wanted man, he was caught a fortnight later after a huge manhunt combed acres of woodland.
Rodgers later denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He never revealed why he killed Chanel.
He was still awaiting trial when, just four hours after being transferred from his cell, he died in Lincoln County Hospital on 25th February 2006.
He had not eaten solid food for more than 130 days but had been drinking three litres of orange juice a day, as well as smoking heavily.
The inquest continues.
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