Kenneth Pike
/ file photo
ROCHESTER -- New York corrections officials say an inmate serving time for raping a 12-year-old female relative in 1996 has returned to prison after an outcry over his eligibility for a heart transplant.
Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman Linda Foglia said Monday that Kenneth Pike was driven by van to Coxsackie prison in the Hudson Valley on Friday. He was flown to a Rochester hospital for a transplant evaluation last month.
The 55-year-old's sister, Sharon Cardinal, says he changed his mind about the transplant after news reports sparked a debate over inmates receiving organ transplants at taxpayers' expense. The procedure could have cost up to $800,000.
Pike is serving an 18-to-40-year sentence. Relatives say he has a pacemaker, recently underwent a triple bypass and would likely die without a transplant.
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