Biography
Van Skedine was sentenced in a federal court to one year in prison for refusing to register for the draft. While incarcerated in the Bridewell Jail in Illinois, Skedine began a hunger strike. Doctors examined the striking Skedine and declared him sane although "suffering from delusions" because "he believed he was dying for the cause of the conscientious objectors." Skedine died after twenty-two days of hunger striking. The post-mortem report identified the cause of death as "influenza and pneumonia."
