The Bona Venture

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: http://www.crimeandinvestigation.com [Click to enlarge]

In 2004, The New York Times ran a story about the mistreatment of prisoners being routine in the United States. It appears a prisoner's treatment hasn't improved much since then.

Arthur Shawcross, notorious Rochester-area serial killer, did not receive adequate medical care in the few days before his death, according to a Jan. 25 Democrat and Chronicle article that cites a report released by the state Commission of Correction. Most of the report has been redacted.

Shawcross killed 11 women, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't receive adequate health care. Doesn't everyone have the right to be treated with dignity?

Shawcross, who was serving a life sentence at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, N.Y., died of a pulmonary thromboembolism, an artery in the lung blocked by a blood clot, Nov. 10, 2008. When he complained to a nurse about leg pain, she refused him a wheelchair, saying he could walk to the nearby medical center for prescribed medication, according to the Democrat and Chronicle article.

The report also said Shawcross did not receive medical attention in a timely manner. A wheelchair-accessible van from another prison transported him to the Albany Medical Center, two hours away from the prison, the article reported. The wait for the van alone was at least four hours.

Yes, Shawcross murdered 11 women. Yes, he showed no remorse for his victims. That doesn't mean we should bring ourselves down to his level and let a man receive inadequate health care because of our own judgments.

The nurse who refused to let Shawcross use a wheelchair when he couldn't walk ignored the Hippocratic Oath: do no harm. Instead, she followed her own oath: do no harm, unless the patient in question harmed others. Then do whatever you want.

Inmates shouldn't be treated as sub-human, not just because it is morally wrong, but also because it can be dangerous. The Attica Correctional Facility uprising in September 1971, which resulted in 43 deaths, happened because the inmates weren't happy with their living conditions, according to talkinghistory.orgy.

That doesn't mean prisoners should live in luxury, but they shouldn't feel the need to rebel in protest of their living conditions.

Even though there are some ambiguities regarding Shawcross' death, he still should have been able to receive proper medical treatment in a timely manner, something that everyone is entitled to regardless of their criminal status. Shawcross may be a serial killer, but he should still have the right to life.

After all, may he who is without sin cast the first stone.

e-mail: kleinaj@sbu.edu

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools