Are You Glad Ariel Castro Is Dead?

Lorry Schoenly is a correctional nurse blogging at CorrectionalNurse.Net. This guest post is a modification of a recent post on her site. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland, OH/Wikimedia Commons Ariel Castro’s home in Cleveland, OH/Wikimedia Commons

What were your first thoughts when you heard the news of convicted Ohio kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro’s successful suicide while in protective custody in a state prison reception facility? Based on my Twitter and Facebook timelines, there have been a variety of responses in the public, nursing, and correctional health care communities. Many are glad that society is saved from the cost of caring for such a heinous criminal. Some are critical of the mental health and security oversights that led to this opportunity for self-injury. After all, Castro’s suicide potential score must have been off the chart. Fellow blogger and forensic psychiatrist Annette Hanson (@clinkshrink) provides a thoughtful post with her take on the subject: “Your Patient Died. Who Cares?”

This major news item is a reminder of the personal and professional conflict frequently experienced by those of us who care for criminals, many of whom are pretty unlovely, even monstrous, people. The very definition of professional nursing, however, requires us […]