Arrr, the scallywags who be runnin' the veterans home be walkin' the plank scot-free after 76 souls be lost.
2024-03-27
Arrr, two scurvy dogs from a veterans home in Massachusetts, where a fearsome COVID-19 outbreak claimed the lives of at least 76 souls, have struck a deal to settle their criminal misdeeds. Me thinks they be walkin' the plank soon enough!
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, I be tellin' ye a tale of two scallywags who be escapin' the brig for their deeds in a veterans home in Massachusetts where a fearsome COVID-19 outbreak claimed the lives of at least 76 souls. Bennett Walsh and Dr. David Clinton, former officials o' the home, dodged the plank by settlin' their criminal case without seein' the inside of a cell.The rapscallions faced five counts of criminal neglect, the first such case in the country related to nursing home deaths during the pandemic. Prosecutors sought guilty pleas and probation, but the defense argued these lads were caught in the chaotic early days of the pandemic, with limited knowledge and resources.Despite the state's anger at the ruling, the two lads be continuin' on a three-month probationary period, acknowledgin' the facts could lead to a guilty verdict. The court's decision angered many, includin' the families who lost loved ones.The scallywags pleaded not guilty to their decision to combine COVID-positive and symptom-free residents, a move criticized in a state Inspector General's report. Despite initial charges bein' dismissed, the highest court reinstated them, eventually leadin' to a settlement of $56 million in a class-action lawsuit.