On disasters and responsibilities, old, infirm, dead, blame?
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Sorry if I'm covering old news, but I didn't get a chance to check much over the last day or so, and when I saw the original news stories on the issue, I really expected to see someone else commenting on the issue(s).
Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the owners/operators of at least one nursing home were charged with murder because of the deaths of 34 patients that were not evacuated. See Washington Post article here: Owners of Nursing Home Charged
Similarly, several victims were recovered from a New Orleans hospital, again leaving open the possibility that someone will face charges for the deaths.
Frankly, I was surprised at the charges of murder for the nursing home case. A wrongful death civil suit (or several of them) wouldn't have surprised me. Something along the lines of manslaughter, maybe. But murder? Really, the owners of the facility are being charged with murder? I am sorry, but I don't get it.
Faced with a mandatory evacuation order, residents did the best they could, and the people responsible for evacuating these patients should have made every effort to help them get to a safe zone, but just how much can be done when the evacuation order doesn't come down early, or when the patients involved may not be easily transported? Some of the patients (those able to choose their own fate) may have opted to stay where they were if given the choice. Some may have been too ill to transport at all.
It is a tragic situation, but I'm really trying to figure out how these murder charges were anything more than political grandstanding and witchhunting.
Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the owners/operators of at least one nursing home were charged with murder because of the deaths of 34 patients that were not evacuated. See Washington Post article here: Owners of Nursing Home Charged
Similarly, several victims were recovered from a New Orleans hospital, again leaving open the possibility that someone will face charges for the deaths.
Frankly, I was surprised at the charges of murder for the nursing home case. A wrongful death civil suit (or several of them) wouldn't have surprised me. Something along the lines of manslaughter, maybe. But murder? Really, the owners of the facility are being charged with murder? I am sorry, but I don't get it.
Faced with a mandatory evacuation order, residents did the best they could, and the people responsible for evacuating these patients should have made every effort to help them get to a safe zone, but just how much can be done when the evacuation order doesn't come down early, or when the patients involved may not be easily transported? Some of the patients (those able to choose their own fate) may have opted to stay where they were if given the choice. Some may have been too ill to transport at all.
It is a tragic situation, but I'm really trying to figure out how these murder charges were anything more than political grandstanding and witchhunting.