Cult leader Wayne Bent ends ‘religious fast’

Bent Ends Prison Fast

LOS LUNAS, N.M. — Religious sect leader Wayne Bent has ended the fast he began after being sent to prison earlier this week for sexual misconduct, according to Tia Bland, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

Bland said Bent ended his fast at lunch Friday.

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He had refused to eat since he arrived Tuesday evening at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility at Los Lunas.

The 67-year-old Bent had told prison officials he was on a “religious fast.”
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Hunger-striking cult leader may eat again

Cult leader and convicted child molester Wayne Bent said he is on a hunger strike that will eventually kill him–but he may have had a change of heart.

Bent, the leader of an apocalyptic cult in northern New Mexico, told a judge this week he would only serve several days of his 10-year-sentence. The self-proclaimed messiah has not been eating, saying he will die behind bars.

Throughout his trial, the 67-year-old sect leader repeatedly said he would refuse to eat if he was sent to prison:

“If I go to jail again, I am not going to live there. I will not,” he told the court.

Bent hasn’t been eating since he entered the prison system on Tuesday. Prison medical staff have been keeping close watch over the cult leader.

Late Thursday, they said Bent may have changed his mind.

“He says he plans to end the religious fast tomorrow (Friday) at noon,” said Tia Bland of the New Mexico Department of Corrections. “He did talk to prison staff and shared some sentiments with them. It sort of sounds like he’s made peace with the fact that he’s in prison and he intends to do his time as comfortably as he can.”
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See Also:

• Son Says Apocalyptic Sect Leader Won’t Live Long in Prison, AP, Dec. 16, 2008