'Elder Torture' Alive and Well in the USA

While we are concerned with the torture of enemy combatants , our own elders are being tortured everyday in America, some face a slow death by starvation, other are stripped of their wealth , their dignity , their families are destroyed and they are held prisoners in their own homes.

This was a disturbing case of elder abuse caught on tape… a 90 year old Baltimore man beaten by his caretaker. The victim’s daughter is now pushing for a law in her dad’s name that would stiffen elder abuse penalties.

The victim’s daughter, Jaki Taylor, made the discovery thanks to cameras she had put in her home. The caretaker Anastacia Oluoch was arrested and charged in the beating. But she was able to make bail and eventually flee from the law. Taylor says, “It makes me really irate that she bailed herself out with the money I had been paying her to take care of my dad.

Eight days before the trial, she flees the country and goes back home to Nairobi, Kenya.” The caretaker never stood trial. That prompted Taylor to push for legislation in her father’s name. It’s called the John Taylor act and the bill would stiffen penalties and deny bail to anyone charged with first degree elder abuse. Senator Lisa Gladden is sponsoring the bill. “It is not right that we allow our elders be abused in this manner and if you do, we’re gonna hold you in jail until you come to court.” Since the beating, Taylor’s father has been in a nursing home. Taylor says,

“His health just rapidly declined and he has not been back home yet, he’s still in the critical care unit in the nursing home.” Although it’s unclear if the bill will pass this session, supporters say it’s a start to protecting the elderly from abuse. The bill would also allow officials to withhold the suspect’s passport to prevent that person from fleeing the country.

Source ABCNews.Com