FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — A 33-year-old New York activist who gained national attention when she refused to pay a fine for baring her breasts in Spring Lake in 2008 was released Wednesday morning from the Monmouth County jail, authorities said.
Phoenix Feeley was released ?on time allotted,? according to Cynthia Scott, a spokeswoman for the Monmouth County Sheriff?s Department.
?I can confirm that she was released from the jail at 9 a.m. this morning,? Scott told the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday night.
Feeley?s jail time stemmed from her refusal to pay an $816 fine for removing her bikini top at the Salem Avenue beach in Spring Lake and sunbathing topless in June 2008, according to the Spring Lake Police Department arrest report.
She was issued summonses for violating the borough?s dressing and undressing ordinance, disorderly conduct and obstructing administrative law. After being released and given a court date, she shed her top again that same day, along Third Avenue, and was arrested again on disorderly conduct charges, according to the report.
Feeley had entered her 10th day in the Monmouth County jail when she was released. As of Saturday, she had been on a hunger strike, officials said.
During her sentencing Aug. 8, Feeley told Municipal Judge George C. Pappas that none of her inmate rights were being upheld, the prison?s conditions regarding food, water and her cell were inhumane, and that she been denied access to a grievance form, a library, a lawyer and a phone call.
On Saturday, Scott stated all of the comments Feeley made during that hearing, in regards to the correctional facility, were false.
Feeley was being offered three meals per day, along with additional supplemental drinks, which she refused, Scott said previously.
She was moved into the facility?s infirmary because of her hunger strike, Scott said, and her vital signs were being checked regularly.
?When it comes to the food at the facility, the menu is designed and approved by a licensed dietician every 30 days,? Scott said previously.
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