Diane Pineiro-Zucker is reporting in the Daily Freeman a state appeals court has ruled the Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie was correct to force feed an incarcerated man who refused food and medical treatment. The man, who was serving a sentence of 25 years to life, began the hunger strike in an effort to convince officials to move him to another maximum security prison. In the decision, handed down Thu., Dec. 29, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, Third Department said officials acted appropriately when they force fed the man by medical means, upholding a lower-court decision. The man argued that decision violated his constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, and his rights to privacy, liberty and free speech. Mid-Hudson civil rights attorney Michael Sussman said the panel's decision was not troubling to him, and found it consistent with existing state law. On one level, Sussman said, the decision is “an expression of society’s concern and respect for a person’s life. ... On the other level, it’s the exact opposite.” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.