Mary Astaforoff, was one of five Doukhobor inmates released in 1972. The release was authorized under a section of the Penitentiary Act that allows the temporary release of an inmate for medical reasons.

This week, a B.C. judge ruled that Astaforoff should be allowed to die in a provincial jail, but federal officials sought an order to make the province do whatever is necessary to save her life.

Two of Astaforoff's sisters are currently on a hunger strike at the Prison for Women.

To mark The Whig-Standard's 150th anniversary, Canada's oldest continuously published daily newspaper presents some snapshots of the news from our pages over the years:

Thursday, July 14, 1983

A hunger-striking Doukhobor woman who, the B.C. Supreme Court says, should be allowed to die in jail was once released from Kingston's Prison for Women because she was close to death from fasting.

Mary Astaforoff, was one of five Doukhobor inmates released in 1972. The release was authorized under a section of the Penitentiary Act that allows the temporary release of an inmate for medical reasons.

Two months after her release, Astaforoff was convicted of arson and ordered back to prison.

This week, a B.C. judge ruled that Astaforoff should be allowed to die in a provincial jail, but federal officials sought an order to make the province do whatever is necessary to save her life.

Two of Astaforoff's sisters are currently on a hunger strike at the Prison for Women.

"If the conditions of inmates Mary Braun, 63, and Tina Zmaeff, 59, severely deteriorate, any decision on their treatment would be left to doctors, Kingston spokesman Dennis Curtis said."