TIJUANA, Mexico -- An 81-year-old cancer patient jailed in Tijuana for buying Valium tablets was set free Wednesday, 10News reported.
George Murl (pictured, left), of Oxnard, Calif. was arrested May 24 on suspicion of drug smuggling after he allegedly purchased 600 Valium tablets without a prescription.
Murl, who suffers from prostate cancer, was held in a state penitentiary and at a Tijuana hospital.
At the hospital a judge held a bedside trial, and then released Murl Wednesday afternoon.
Murl was then transported to the VA hospital in La Jolla.
The cancer patient had been on a hunger strike.
"I'm not going to eat until I get to the other side. Then I'd just as soon not eat for a day or two. First of all I'd like them to give me something to relax my mind, and do a little thinking on my own," Murl said Wednesday morning.
At a hospital check-up last week, Murl answered questions from reporters.
"I'm in a cell with a man who is 78 years old. He commited no crime. I've seen things here I never believed existed," Murl said.
Looking frail and unsteady, Murl said that he had no bed in the prison.
"I laid on a wet cement floor (with) no blanket. The next two nights, I stood against a cell for 12-14 hours," he said.
Murl also said that he is not being given any medication stronger than aspirin while in the prison.
"I've had pain for a while. I asked for medication. They give me some aspirin. I gave it to somebody who needed it more than me," Murl said.
Murl was admitted to the VA Hospital because he is a World War II veteran. Murl was a navy diver.
After recuperating for a few days in the La Jolla hospital, Murl plans to move to Ohio where he will live with a sister.
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