Was this murder?
The tragic demise of Dexter Barry, a heart transplant recipient, after two days in jail without his life-sustaining medication, should elicit profound outrage. Barry was arrested on a simple assault charge, accused of threatening his neighbor.
Barry repeatedly emphasized his medical needs to officers and judges, pleas that fell on deaf ears. Eventually, his body rejected his transplanted heart, resulting in his untimely death. To dismiss such a critical need on grounds of an allegedly trivial disagreement amounts to an unsettling dereliction of duty, one that echoes the unsavory autocracies of the 20th century.
'My heart will be rejected': Jacksonville man dies after missing doses in jail https://jaxtrib.org/2023/05/23/i-cant-miss-those-doses-jacksonville-man-died-after-jail-denied-him-heart-transplant-medicine/
@TomWellborn This story is making me physically ill. Even in Florida, I can't believe the police, jail, and judge were so callous, and dismissive of a clearly life-threatening situation. At every point, indifferent public servants chose to neglect, and effectively ignore this man's serious medical condition. Their indifference and failure to provide the necessary medication are directly responsible for his death. They chose to kill him rather than give him his meds.
@slcw It's fucking murder. No matter how you stack it.
@TomWellborn He was just another black man with a story. Certainly not a person whose circumstances we were worth considering.