Humane and compassionate elder care as a human right

摘要

Last week, in a courtroom in Louisiana, the first criminal trial to arise from deaths that occurred during Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans 2 years ago, got underway Mabel and Salvador Mangano, who owned St Rita's nursing home in St Bernard Parish, have been charged with the deaths of 35 of their residents, all of whom drowned, some in wheelchairs, others in their beds, when the home was rapidly flooded They have also been charged with cruelty to the 24 residents who survived after family members and aides evacuated them using two nearby boats The couple, who have pleaded not guilty, refused an offer of two buses to evacuate the home the day before the storm They chose instead to "shelter in place", with catastrophic results If convicted, each of them could be sentenced to more than 400 years in prison.