Tuesday, November 29, 2005

The Rest of the Story

"There are three sides to every story: your side, their side, and the truth."
- Old Vorlon saying

You may remember the post-Katrina horror stories that came out of the Saint Rita's Nursing Home outside of New Orleans. The owners ignored orders to evacuate, thinking they could ride out the storm in safety. They were wrong. Trapped in the storm surge, at least 34 of the home's elderly residents were killed. Louisiana authorities have charged the owners with 34 counts of negligent homicide. But as today's USA Today cover story points out, the entire picture of what happened at St. Rita's is just beginning to emerge. A tragedy? Definitely. The result of a criminal act? It's not looking like it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you even read the article you linked to? It looks like a clear enough indictment to me.

JD Byrne said...

Yes, I read the article. The point was that when this story originally broke the proprietors of the home were painted as negligent, careless idiots who refused to do the "right thing" and evacuate. It turns out that their decision not to evacuate was anything but careless. As their attorney pointed out, they took their own families to the home when the storm hit - they obviously thought it would be safe. Were they wrong? Obviously. Does that automatically make them criminals? I doubt it.