Inmate deaths, poor jail conditions -- inexcusable
Laws, and consequences for violations, exist to help society to function well. People are to be protected from harm that’s not deserved. “Due process” is constitutionally required before denying rights to life, liberty or property. Health is the primary factor in life.
Punishments are supposed to be proper for those crimes proven committed. Jail conditions are (now) not supposed to harm the health of inmates. That is a consequence beyond court-rendered sentences. Inmates are really dependents for health care and conditions.
The Fulton County jail is now reported to have 10 inmate deaths this year, and more than 60 between 2009 and October 2022. Sheriff Patrick Labat said it is “past time to clean house.” Has the training of jailers been inadequate? Many jails and prisons operate as department of “corrections” facilities.
We cannot rehabilitate/correct offenders to productive lives in society while making them worse in attitudes and health, especially when they’re dead. Such is wasting both money and lives.
TOM STREETS, ATLANTA
What’s driving this cult of Trump worship?
I’d like to see The AJC and other media organizations interview mental health professionals to analyze what is behind the cult of Trump worship gripping at least a third of American voters.
Former President Donald Trump is a mobster facing scores of criminal indictments. He is a bully, a notorious liar, an unapologetic philanderer and an insurrectionist who tried to overthrow our democracy. He has called for abandoning the Constitution so that he can return to power as an authoritarian dictator.
Yet the majority of Republicans in Georgia and the U.S. want him back in the White House. And a CBS/YouGov poll shows that 71% of his supporters believe what he tells them – higher than the results for friends and family (63%) or religious leaders (42%).
What’s going on here? Is it some sort of mass hysteria? When will we see experts weigh in? I earnestly beseech journalists to consult the mental health community to shed light on what on earth is wrong with these people.
CHRIS MOSER, STONECREST
