Food fight

The next time you hear someone complain about “cruel and unusual punishment” in America, think about Broderick Laswell.

Broderick is an inmate in the Benton County (Ark.) jail, awaiting trial for murder. Something about beating and stabbing a guy to death, and then setting his home on fire.

After eight months in the slammer, he has sued the county. Says he is “literally being starved to death.”

"On several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out," Laswell put in his lawsuit. "About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl."

And he means it. He’s lost 105 pounds since he’s been inside.

The catch? Well, Broderick still weighs … 308 pounds!

That’s right, taxpayers. He was 413 pounds when he went in and apparently didn’t want to trim the tonnage.

Oh, and he also wants hot food, not the cold stuff the jail has served for years.

Poor Broderick.

The poor guy is wasting away to nothing, and he doesn’t even seem to realize that he’s in a jail, not a swanky hotel.