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Extra points for funny captions of the picture.
Man robs bank to get medical care in jail
By Zachary Roth
Some people who need medical care but can't afford it go to the emergency room. Others just hope they'll get better. James Richard Verone robbed a bank.
Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gaston, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up.
(Photo: Ben Goff/The Gaston Gazette)
He's now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.
Verone's problems started when he lost the job he'd held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He found new work driving a truck, but it didn't last. Eventually, he took a part-time position at the convenience store.
But Verone's body wasn't up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.
Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. "The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything."
Verone knew he needed help--and he didn't want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. He applied for food stamps, but they weren't enough either.
So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt. He mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail.
"When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me," Verone wrote in the letter. "This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body."
Then Verone hailed a cab to take him to the RBC Bank. Inside, he handed the teller his $1 robbery demand.
"I didn't have any fears," said Verone. "I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police."
The teller was so frightened that she had to be taken to the hospital to be checked out. Verone, meanwhile, was taken to jail, just as he'd planned it.
Because he only asked for $1, Verone was charged with larceny, not bank robbery. But he said that if his punishment isn't severe enough, he plans to tell the judge that he'll do it again. His $100,000 bond has been reduced to $2,000, but he says he doesn't plan to pay it.
In jail, Verone said he skips dinner to avoid too much contact with the other inmates. He's already seen some nurses and is scheduled to see a doctor on Friday. He said he's hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach.
Verone also presented the view that if the United States had a health-care system which offered people more government support, he wouldn't have had to make the choice he did.
"If you don't have your health you don't have anything," Verone said.
The Affordable Care Act, President Obama's health-care overhaul passed by Congress last year, was designed to make it easier for Americans in situations like Verone's to get health insurance. But most of its provisions don't go into effect until 2014.
As it is, Verone said he thinks he chose the best of a bunch of bad options. "I picked jail."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...l-care-in-jail
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Think you aren't going to be paying for the uninsured?
Think again.
National health insurance, via single payor ftw.
Last edited by RandomGuy; 06-21-2011 at 11:03 AM. Reason: added link, credits for article/picture
Extra points for funny captions of the picture.
dubya's universal health care: "Just Go To The Emergency Room (c)"
So THATS why they call my new cellmate "Kingsnake"...
Welcome to ruins of Bush's America.
"My 10 predictions from 2005 came true"
Blake wins.
"Why do the green beans taste like rainbows all of the sudden?"
Guess what I filled the Superdome with!
I came dangerously close to snorting my coffee on that one. Props to Blake.
Blake wins.
That dude looks alot like George Carlin.
Blake
On a more serious note, what is the solution? We just stop enforcing the law?
Wow. What a great example to set for others.
Kinda like calling 911 because McDonalds screwed up you mcnuggets.
pathetic
Sacrificing liberty for en lements and tyranny.
Hmmm.
Why would the law stop this? The only loser in this situation is the taxpayer.
On a more serious note, what is the solution? We just stop enforcing the law?
Is that the new name for unaffordable health care?
Well, he's obviously trying to and successfully 'gaming the system'.
The system that makes a grip of money on his incarceration?
read the article. Guy couldn't move due to the pain. Not really like mcnuggets.
Well, it still costs us taxpayers a good chunk. Not to mention I'm pretty sure the DA and prosecutor will probably want to discourage this.
The thing is, does he have to commit a more serious crime? It's all backwards.
I actually feel sorry for this man. He doesn't seem to be a freeloader and he tried his best to find work to support himself. I believe there should be some sort of safety net for people like him - it's the lazy, able-bodied people gaming the system that really piss me off.
You have to wonder if he couldn't qualify for Medicaid or Medicare (he's 59, but if you're disabled you would qualify).
The Cop and the Anthem by O Henry from December 1904...
He should go to jail for purposely going to jail.
Universal healthcare would be the solution, imo.
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