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

According to The Guardian, Shaw learned his fate in December when the presiding judge sentenced him to 26 months in jail, including time served, and fined him $50,000—a relief in comparison to facing a firing squad in a foreign land. 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 being locked up.

“When I got arrested, I was 245lbs,” says the six-foot, 11-inch Shaw. “I’m down to 210lbs now, and it’s concerning. The proper nutrition isn’t here.”

So, although he is not facing the death penalty, he is suffering from a condition that could potentially lead to his death.

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

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 confiscated 132 pieces of cannabis candy. Law enforcement officials were tipped off by customs at the airport that Shaw had received a suspicious package via air from Thailand, according to Ronald Sipayung, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport police chief.

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

“Looking back, it’s just a f**ked situation,” Shaw told the media outlet via 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 wasn’t getting the death penalty.”

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

Since the doctor’s assessment, Shaw has been waiting to be taken to the hospital for three days of testing, including a colonoscopy and intestinal ultrasound, which the doctor recommended.

“We’re trying to get them to understand,” he says. “Even though there’s no cure for [Crohn’s], you have to treat it, or it could get worse. Hopefully, someone with higher power can at least help me get to the hospital.”

He is still hoping to get out of jail, as his attorneys are petitioning Indonesia’s minister of health to consider a compassionate release. They hope his lack of a criminal record and his cooperation in court will be enough to secure his release. 

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