Charges Filed in Nursing Home Deaths

[jkt21787]

The two owners of the St. Rita's Nursing home where 34 bodies were found have been charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide.

[jkt21787]

AP News Alert

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana's attorney general says the owners of a flooded-out New Orleans-area nursing home been charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of patients.

[stormie_skies]

[simplykristi]

This is great news! The owners have been found, right?

Kristi

[jkt21787]

This is great news! The owners have been found, right?

Kristi

No, according to CNN, just an arrest warrant has been issued. They have not been apprehended as of yet.

[simplykristi]

Thanks for the update! Hopefully the %$&* can be found soon!

BTW, the owners are in a Baton Rouge jail awaiting a hearing.

Kristi

[Mattie]

-- Owners of flooded St. Rita's Nursing Home charged with 34 counts of homicide, Louisiana attorney general says.


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This has "homicide" - not manslaughter.

[LAwxrgal]

Press conference now on CNN...

34 counts of involuntary manslaugher for the suspects, the two owners of the St. Rita's nursing home.

CORRECTED: the charges are involuntary manslaughter, not involuntary homicide.

Just one question -- is this the nursing home where the Jefferson Parish president's mother was?

[Mattie]

I hope the answer is no. . .

or the question will be - hello - why didn't you take care of your mother - you knew about the storm . . . . (sorry - but if these people had family, they should have made sure they were safely evacuated).

[GalvestonDuck]

-- Owners of flooded St. Rita's Nursing Home charged with 34 counts of homicide, Louisiana attorney general says.


Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video. More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.


This has "homicide" - not manslaughter.

And it's negligent homicide, not involuntary. Although they really should also charge them with manslaughter too. It may be difficult to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there was premeditated malice. Manslaughter means there was no implied malicious intent.

I'm thinking -- can't they charge them with both and let the jury decide?

[jkt21787]

-- Owners of flooded St. Rita's Nursing Home charged with 34 counts of homicide, Louisiana attorney general says.


Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video. More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.


This has "homicide" - not manslaughter.

And it's negligent homicide, not involuntary. Although they really should also charge them with manslaughter too. It may be difficult to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there was premeditated malice. Manslaughter means there was no implied malicious intent.

I'm thinking -- can't they charge them with both and let the jury decide?

I'm going to re-correct my orginial post

As far as LAwxgirl's question about the Jeff. Parish President's mother, I have no idea, but that would be something I'd be interested in hearing. If it were the case, I imagine it will be reported since his statement (it was on Meet the Press) was so widely shown.

[stormie_skies]

It was just stated on MSNBC that they now have the two owners in custody. And I agree with you, Duckie....manslaughter is a much better fit. I don't see how they can prove malice when workers at the home tried to keep water out and did manage to evacuate a few of the residents....

[Derek Ortt]

this should be just one of many trials that need to be conducted. The New Orleans mayor also needs to be tried after he refused to order a mandatory evacuation when strongly advised to by the president himself. Seems to be the same type of argument

[Mac]

this should be just one of many trials that need to be conducted. The New Orleans mayor also needs to be tried after he refused to order a mandatory evacuation when strongly advised to by the president himself. Seems to be the same type of argument

I agree. I am in no way excusing what these owners of this nursing home did. After all, they had a duty to take care of their patients. But I also think people shouldn't be so quick to try and convict them. They did evacuate some of their patients. And, from what reports I've seen thus far, they continued those evacuations until they were no longer possible. Evacuations require certain resources--ambulances, nurses, a place to take the patients, etc.

So are these people still guilty of negligent homicide if they made every effort to get the people out of the nursing home but didn't have the available resources to get all the people out? Bear in mind, there were many other nursing homes, hospitals, etc., also taxing available resources to get people out. There simply weren't enough resources to go around. I can guarantee you that.

Maybe it will turn out that these people neglected to fulfill their duty to get these patients out of harm's way. Or maybe it will turn out that they tried but didn't have the resources to get them out. And if that turns out to be the case--if they lacked certain resources because the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of LA failed to execute their emergency plan and provide some of those resources--then who should be standing trial: The owners of the nursing home or the officials who failed to fulfill the duties of their offices?

[mf_dolphin]

I read one story where they were offered evacuation but turned it down. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12636445.htm Hard to tell right now with so much bad information going around.

Louisiana State Law, defining negligent homicide:


§32. Negligent homicide

A. Negligent homicide is the killing of a human being by criminal negligence.

B. The violation of a statute or ordinance shall be considered only as presumptive evidence of such negligence.

C. Whoever commits the crime of negligent homicide shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both. However, if the victim was killed as a result of receiving a battery and was under the age of ten years, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor, without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence, for not less than two nor more than five years.

It would seem that malice is not required under Louisiana law.

[Mac]

I read one story where they were offered evacuation but turned it down. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12636445.htm Hard to tell right now with so much bad information going around.

Louisiana State Law, defining negligent homicide:


§32. Negligent homicide

A. Negligent homicide is the killing of a human being by criminal negligence.

B. The violation of a statute or ordinance shall be considered only as presumptive evidence of such negligence.

C. Whoever commits the crime of negligent homicide shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both. However, if the victim was killed as a result of receiving a battery and was under the age of ten years, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor, without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence, for not less than two nor more than five years.

It would seem that malice is not required under Louisiana law.

If that's true, then they should be held criminally accountable. But like you said, it's so hard to decipher what's true and what isn't about a lot of things that happened in New Orleans. Time will tell. In the meanwhile, it would seem more prudent, IMHO, to wait for more information to come forward before we nail these folks to the cross.

[Mac]

Louisiana State Law, defining negligent homicide:


§32. Negligent homicide

A. Negligent homicide is the killing of a human being by criminal negligence.

B. The violation of a statute or ordinance shall be considered only as presumptive evidence of such negligence.

C. Whoever commits the crime of negligent homicide shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both. However, if the victim was killed as a result of receiving a battery and was under the age of ten years, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor, without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence, for not less than two nor more than five years.

It would seem that malice is not required under Louisiana law.

Some states don't really have a crime called "manslaughter." I think "negligent homicide" and "manslaughter" are pretty much interchangable, at least to the extent that it is considered a crime that resulted in a death through the negligent actions of an individual. I think the distinction between these two and murder is that murder includes malice. First degree murder includes premeditation--meaning that the homicide was planned and intended.

[GalvestonDuck]

I watch too much Law & Order.

Whatever they call it, as long as they can prove guilt by definition and without a shadow of a doubt and all that jazz.

[soonertwister]

Once the situation is understood, I doubt that anything will come of this. But it feels good to scapegoat people, be it the mayor or the governor or the head of FEMA or the president.

Get a rope, string 'em up. The issues we are dealing with here are so complex, it's going to take years to understand all the background to what really happened.

Let's hope we can sanely think this whole thing through and grasp the big picture, and that we never ever see anything like this again.

Once is too many times.

[azsnowman]

I watch too much Law & Order.

Whatever they call it, as long as they can prove guilt by definition and without a shadow of a doubt and all that jazz.

You watch too much L & O......I STUDY too much L & O right now to even REMEMBER the difference, I mean HEY...the legalities part of CI was over 3 SEMESTERS AGO, how am I apposed to umember?

Dennis


BTW....."Get a ROPE!"