Healthcare for a Killer.

       We read a case study in class about a man, Horacio Alberto Reyes-Camarena, who was sent to death row for stabbing an 18 year old girl and dumping her body near the Oregon coast.  However, this man is currently receiving high-quality and lifesaving dialysis treatment, for his failing kidneys.  This kind of treatment is very expensive and time consuming, (for the nurses that must provide the treatment) that many other (“non-criminal”) people desperately need as well, yet simply cannot afford it.  Meanwhile a convicted killer is simply receiving this costly, and lifesaving treatment completely free without any expense to him.  Obviously this is not the only case in which a convicted felon has received similar treatments for no cost, in fact most of these institutions have free, top of the line healthcare for their inmates.  Yet nothing is really ever “free” so who is really paying for all of this expensive healthcare for these inmates?  The taxpayers of course; all of the working class, tax paying Americans fund the maintaining and up keep of the healthcare for convicted felons.  Personally, I find this to be downright absurd.  We should not be required to pay for the healthcare and lifesaving treatments for those people who we define as being heinous beings that do not even receive many of the basic human rights.  If these criminals are heinous enough to believe that they somehow have more of a right to life than another human being life, then why must we pay to keep them alive when they are responsible for taking away the lives of those whom we love. It is said, that ‘’All men are created equal.” I do firmly stand behind this statement presented in the constitution and believe that all men and women regardless of race, income, or gender should be entitled to the same benefits and opportunities. However, when a human being takes life and those matters into his own hands and has the audacity to end a life of another, they are no longer considered a beneficial part of society. Instead of giving back to the greater good, they are taking away from it. I believe that they do not deserve the same benefits or privileges. I am not inferring that they have lost the path of redemption, but I do believe that their road should be a lot rockier than someone who has been a victim of this crime. For example, hypothetically, John has been convicted of countless crimes ranging from petty theft to public drunkenness. One night he deliberately decides to go into Jane’s (his neighbor’s house) and murder one of her 3 children. Jane is a single mother who can barely support her 3 children and elderly grandmother- much less provide a substantial amount of money for insurance. After this unfortunate event, Jane is left traumatized without insurance, while John is able to soak up the benefits while in prison. This example may seem to be extreme to us, but instances happen like this all the time. This is not just, particularly for a country that prides itself on justice.