"'Criminal justice' was a term she found more apt than it was meant to be." - Barbara Neely
Texas has murdered more than 200 people in the last 6 months. But maybe “murdered”, is too strong. What do you call it when preventable death occurs due to apathy, or perhaps deliberate indifference? What word applies when someone knows that leaving their step-child in a hot car can kill them, but leaves them in there anyway? Prisoners share the same vulnerability as small children because we depend on our guardians for survival. If they refuse to feed me, I starve. If they refuse me medicine, I suffer. If they leave me helplessly exposed to a deadly virus, I … maybe “murder” isn’t too strong after all, and I bet many loved ones of those 200+ deceased victims probably agree.
Would any of those people have died if they were free rather than trapped in a concrete incubator? Maybe, but at least they would’ve had a sporting chance: mask-up, social distance, and possibly even self-quarantine… all of which their guardians made impossible. Like the step-child locked in a hot car, they were helpless and, no one heard their cries - well, someone heard but they’re inmates not children, so who cares?
