Inmate says no to heart transplant after public outcry, report says

(CBS/AP) ROCHESTER, N.Y. - New York corrections officials say Kenneth Pike, an inmate serving time for raping a 12-year-old female relative in 1996, has apparently changed his mind about getting a potentially life-saving heart transplant, after a public outcry about the procedure.

Kenneth Pike, 55, was flown to a Rochester hospital for a transplant evaluation last month. Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman Linda Foglia said Monday that Pike was driven by van back to Coxsackie prison in the Hudson Valley on Friday.

The inmate's sister, Sharon Cardinal, says Pike 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 for rape. Relatives say he has a pacemaker, recently underwent a triple bypass and would likely die without a transplant.