Tough Case

2 May 2007



TB Patient Jailed For Disobeying Doctor’s Orders

This journal believes that jail is for people who represent a persistent threat to the safety and property of others. Punishment and rehabilitation are great, but the real objective is to remove those who don’t play well with others from the sandbox. Robert Daniels of Maricopa County (Phoenix), Arizona, is in jail because he is a threat to others, despite not committing a crime. Mr. Daniels has a drug-resistant case of tuberculosis, has failed to take the necessary drugs prescribed and wandered around in public without a mask. One doesn’t want to be around when he coughs.

Locking up a sick person appears draconian, but then, germs don’t worry a great deal about due process. Dr. Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, explained, “For us, it’s all about keeping the germs away from other people. When it’s someone who’s demonstrated they can’t do that voluntarily, they need to be in a setting that’s secure.” A judge has ordered Mr. Daniels’ confinement.

Maricopa County is home to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who practices a brand of law enforcement that is, well, different. Inmates in his jail get to wear pink underwear, and many sleep outside in tents. So, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Daniels’ is not happy about his conditions. Dan Pochoda, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, stated in court, “This is a continuing violation of Mr. Daniels’ rights. He is being treated worse than felons in the Department of Corrections. He has not seen the outside, your honor, in eight or nine months. He has not been allowed to have a shower in eight or nine months.”

Mr. Daniels, of course, does deserve better treatment than a convicted burglar, rapist or murderer. He is a sick man who needs treatment, and a positive mental attitude helps in many cases. Decent conditions can aid in that attitude adjustment. However, his body is a reservoir of pathogens that are harmful to others. If he won’t take precautions to protect others as directed by his doctor, just what does society do about him?

In recent years, the avian flu kept folks awake at night worrying about the next pandemic. It has turned out not to be much of a killer, and person-to-person transmission appears difficult to impossible. Yet, Mr. Daniels’ case raises an issue no one wants to think about, someone with a highly communicable and lethal disease who doesn’t worry about infecting others. How does one protect civil liberties and public health when some individuals refuse to cooperate? This journal has no answer, but there’s no rush to let Mr. Daniels out of his room.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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