{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Death by hunger strike: suicide or not?
{Author}: Obegi JH;
{Journal}: Psychiatr Psychol Law
{Volume}: 31
{Issue}: 1
{Year}: 2024
{Factor}: 1.247
{DOI}: 10.1080/13218719.2023.2175069
{Abstract}: Conventional thinking holds that most inmates who hunger strike do not desire to die. Rather, they want prison officials to concede to their demands. In this paper, I examine whether death by hunger strike can be classified as suicide. After reviewing definitions of suicide and suicidal intent, I conclude that some deaths by hunger strike can be readily classified as suicides. I further propose that conditional intention is a useful way to understand the complex motivations of hunger strikers. I close by discussing the implications of conditional intention for the assessment of suicidal intent among hunger strikers and for the duty of mental health providers to prevent suicide.