American basketball player Jarred Shaw avoids the death penalty but faces health problems in Indonesian prison

American basketball player Jarred Shaw, who was playing professionally in Indonesia before he was arrested for receiving imported cannabis gummies, was staring at the prospect of execution, but after a judge found him guilty of drug possession and acquitted him of human trafficking charges, he took the death penalty off the table.

According to The GuardianShaw learned his fate in December, when the president sentenced him to 26 months in prison, including time served, and fined him $50,000 — a relief compared to facing a firing squad in a foreign country. However, the reason he ordered the gummies was to treat his Crohn’s disease. Unfortunately, the prison food he eats does not help his condition; in fact, he has lost 35 pounds since he was incarcerated.

“When I was arrested, I weighed 200 pounds,” says the 6-foot-2 Shaw. “I’ve now lost 210 pounds, and it’s concerning. The right nutrition isn’t there.”

Although he does not risk the death penalty, he suffers from a condition that could possibly lead to his death.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. There is currently no known cure.

The basketball player’s ordeal began last May when he grabbed a package from the lobby of his apartment complex. On May 7, Indonesian police seized 132 cannabis candies. According to Ronald Sipayung, police chief of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, law enforcement officials were tipped off by customs officers at the airport that Shaw had received a suspicious package by air from Thailand.

Shaw stated that cannabis helps relieve symptoms of the disease, and that he would use it for medical purposes in Thailand, where he lived during the off-season.

“Looking back, it’s just a shitty situation,” Shaw told the media by telephone from his prison west of Jakarta. “I wish I could go back and change my actions, but it was definitely a relief to know I didn’t get the death penalty.”

After serving six months in jail, Shaw was evaluated by a doctor who said the basketball player had abdominal pain, mild anemia and tested positive for an E coli infection. If not properly cared for, it can cause diarrhea, bleeding and fever. The doctor also said Shaw had previously been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease.

Since the doctor’s assessment, Shaw had been awaiting admission to the hospital for three days of testing, including a colonoscopy and a bowel ultrasound, which the doctor recommended.

“We try to make them understand,” he says. ‘Even though there is no cure for it [Crohn’s]you need to treat it, otherwise it can get worse. Hopefully someone with more power can at least help me get to the hospital.”

He still hopes to get out of prison as his lawyers ask Indonesia’s health minister to consider a compassionate release. They hope his lack of criminal record and his cooperation in court will be enough to secure his release.

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