A prisoner on hunger strike against his indefinite jail sentence is "prepared to die", according to his friends.
Sean Connolly was slapped with one of the now-scrapped sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), with a minimum term of two years, for causing grievous bodily harm in a fight in 2008.
Connolly, originally from Widnes but most recently living in Kirkdale , ended up serving 10 years in jail before being released on parole in 2017 - but remains on a life licence and was recalled to prison earlier this month.
The hugely controversial IPP sentences were slammed as a "violation of human rights" in a European court ruling, and are no longer handed out by judges.
However more than 2,000 people remain in prison or on life licence under IPP conditions.
The 52-year-old, who his friends say has Asperger's syndrome, was recently recalled to prison after being charged with making threats to kill, but remains in prison despite being cleared in court.
Connolly, who is in HMP Altcourse , has not eaten in 10 days and is being monitored by medics and mental health practitioners in the jail.
A friend of Connolly, who did not wish to be named, said: "He is done with his life now, I am worried he will stop eating until he dies.
"I honestly don't think Sean will make it through this.
"He had been getting back on his feet, he had quite a nice little life. He had a flat and he is quite family orientated, he loves his two kids.
"But it is just not fair, he's a 52-year-old man with Asperger's and he does not know when he can come out."
A spokesman for HMP Altcourse, run by G4S, confirmed Connolly had been admitted to the Fazakerley prison on August 9, and has not eaten since then.
He is currently in the hospital wing, and a spokesman for the prison said he "had been observed accepting fluids."
A spokesman for charity The Howard League for Penal Reform said he could not comment on individual cases but called on the government to end life licences for those already serving IPP sentences.
He told the ECHO: "The unjust IPP sentence was scrapped seven years ago, but thousands of people remain trapped in the system. At the end of June, more than 2,000 IPP-sentenced prisoners were still in prison beyond the end of their tariff – and many more were on licence.
“It is the Howard League’s view that the life licence for IPP prisoners should be abolished.
"Many of the people on IPPs either have committed serious offences and/or have been so damaged by the sentence itself that they do need transitional support, but that should be strictly time limited and based on support not supervision.
"Action to reduce recalls to custody is also needed. If people commit a further offence, they should be dealt with in the courts like anybody else. They should not be recalled because of what they might do, or for failing to comply with arbitrary restrictions."
The Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment.
