Hacker News Reader

Comment by ahevia | Hacker News Reader

Read the article. Sadden he took such drastic actions & that it led to someone’s suffering for so many years until their eventual death, but he served his time in jail. Isn’t that how we repay criminal debts in society? Not a very good argument to deny anyone life saving care after they served their sentencing(or because for their past actions for that matter). If the family believed the sentencing wasn’t accurate that’s a different matter

Glad Doctors don’t discriminate based on past actions of an individual. Would be a very dystopian society if we did.

View on HN

I don't understand what people are arguing, he didn't even get a real heart that could've potentially gone to "a more deserving person". He literally got something that no one else would've gotten. The only reason they agreed to do this experiment on him is because he was about to die and he agreed to be part of an extremely risky surgery that he very likely would've never wake up from.

I could see him being all over the press being annoying for the victim's family, but I don't see this as him being rewarded with anything. What he got is one of the worst option, though the fact that he's survived this far makes it better in hindsight. Then again 2 weeks means nothing, let's see if it actually lasts.

> If the family believed the sentencing wasn’t accurate that’s a different matter.

It probably depends on what you mean by 'accurate'. They almost certainly do not believe this person has repayed a debt to the victim, the victim's family or society in general. Phrasing the issue as one of repaying a debt is problematical when it is beyond the means of the perpetrator to make amends.

Note that this is not an argument for the doctors doing anything different. All else aside, it is in the best interests of society as a whole that they should select the most medically-suitable candidate available for this research.

Considering the situation, a very important medical experiment but over a socially sensitive patient, would it help to keep the guy anonymous ?

There isn't even a consensus on what prison is actually for, so this discussion is doomed to be ambiguous and fruitless. Is it punitive, is it rehabilitation, is it about separating danger from the rest of society, or is it some kind of morale debt collection?

I understand the family though. The unfairness is heavy.

The unfairness of a terminally ill person that's not eligible for a regular heart transplant receiving an experimental treatment that might just as well kill him, but in the long run might save many more? Or is it the unfairness of never being able to escape ones past?

The social implication can be as incredible as we all imagine, it's still unbearable for the family involved.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com