David Arthur Johnson is a free man again, after his most recent 40-day jail term, which left him in yet another 40-day fast.
“Those who know me know I don’t eat while I’m in prison,” says Johnson. “But until we can think of something better to do, having someone starve to death in jail says a lot, I think.”
Johnson, known for his Right To Sleep advocacy, was arrested and sentenced to 40 days in jail early February, after tenting in Centennial Square. This marked the 20th time Johnson was sentenced to jail for more than one week, and the 80th time he was arrested for his tenting and sleeping action since 2004. Only two months ago, Johnson had spent a previous 40 days in jail, with another 40-day fast.
“It was a really interesting trip, and I think I’m kind of becoming an expert faster,” he says. “Now, I don’t know if I will be looking at getting arrested again in three days for another action, or if I’ll be making a cross-Canada trip, hitchhiking to other Occupy and tent city movements.”
Since his release on Tuesday, March 13, Johnson says he has mostly been thinking about eating. So far, he’s been able to consume some Weetabix cereal with warm milk and water and, when Monday spoke with the former jailbird, he had his eyes on some cabbage and potato soup. M