Suspect in Pa. municipal meeting killings sues jail over food

    A man charged with killing three people at a northeastern Pennsylvania municipal meeting is suing his jailors over demands for special dietary foods.

    According to The Times-Tribune 60-year-old Rockne Newell says the Monroe County Correctional Facility is subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.

    Newell’s attorneys say the jail’s high-starch meals cause wild mood and energy swings and that he’d be better off with the kosher meals Jewish inmates receive. They say Newell’s attempts to purchase healthier options have been stymied by commissary spending limits.

    The newspaper reports that a lawyer for the jail warden couldn’t be reached for comment.

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    Newell has said he regrets that “innocent people got hurt” in the August 2013 shooting at Ross Township’s municipal building. Police say he was upset after losing his property.

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