PETA urges vegan diet for alleged cannibal killer

USA TODAY

Animal rights group PETA has sparked fury from a local sheriff by demanding that an Indiana man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body receive a vegan diet while he is in custody, according to local media.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Clark County Acting Sheriff Brian Meyer, encouraging him to provide a diet free of animal products for Joseph Oberhansley, reported the Jeffersonville News & Tribune.

Oberhansley, 33, is accused of breaking into the Jeffersonville home of ex-girlfriend Tammy Jo Blanton, 46, murdering her and abusing her corpse by eating parts of it. He was arrested on Sept.11 and arraigned on Monday. Jeffersonville is across the Ohio River from Louisville.

The letter, signed by Lindsay Rajt, PETA's associate director of campaigns, said other prisons had seen a decrease in violence after switching to vegetarian meals.

But Meyer told Louisville TV station WHAS that he thought the letter was "a cruel joke," he said, "When I realized it was real, my first thought was to not even respond because it's ridiculous.

"I can't believe they would be so insensitive to the victim and her family."

PETA said it saw things in a different light.

"We really want to take a situation that's a tragedy and make it into something positive – to reduce the total violence in the world," PETA spokesman Kent Montville told the News & Tribune.

Meyer, though, was having nothing to do with that argument.

"It's bad enough when you lose someone to natural causes, let alone dealing with a loss this violent," he told WHAS. "That they (PETA) would do this is unfathomable to me. It's insult added to injury. It's unforgivable and they've lost all credibility with me."

Montville, however, said that the letter was meant as a good-faith effort to reduce jail costs and violence among inmates, and that everyone was "rightfully horrified" by Oberhansley's alleged actions.

"But we have to remember that every time we sit down to eat a meal with meat we're also eating someone's body," Montville added.

PETA's letter follows:

Dear Chief:

On behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands across Indiana, I am writing to suggest, with all due respect, that you help alleged killer and cannibal Joseph Oberhansley swear off flesh by providing him with exclusively vegan meals while he is in your custody.

Some prison operators — including those at Alabama's highest-security prison, William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility — have found that switching inmates to vegetarian meals can be a successful part of a violence-reduction program. If Oberhansley did, in fact, kill Tammy Blanton and eat parts of her body, opting to feed him only vegan foods could diminish that bloodlust and might even help protect staff and neighboring inmates. In fact, a meat-free meal plan could benefit all your inmates if you'd like to explore it.

Every vegan meal served at your facility would save animals from coming to a gruesome end. Chickens, cows, and pigs have their throats slit, often while they are still conscious, and their bodies are then dismembered and cut into pieces.

Vegan meals are healthy and easy to prepare, and they can be less expensive than meat-based dishes. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., estimates that he will save $100,000 by eliminating meat from inmate meals and feeding them healthier and cheaper soy protein instead. PETA would be happy to help you design the perfect cruelty-free meal plan for the Clark County Jail.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

— Lindsay Rajt