• A man robbed a bank for $1 so he could go to jail and get free health care
    99 replies, posted
[QUOTE]James Richard Verone woke up June 9 with a sense of anticipation. He took a shower. Ironed his shirt. Hailed a cab. Then robbed a bank. He wasn’t especially nervous. If anything, Verone said he was excited to finally execute his plan to gain access to free medical care. “I prepared myself for this,” Verone said from behind a thick glass window in the Gaston County Jail Thursday morning. Verone spoke calmly about the road that led him to a jail cell he shares with a young man arrested for stealing computers. The 59-year-old man apologized for squinting. He hadn’t gotten his eyeglasses returned to him since being arrested a week ago. He smiled from the other side of the glass, sometimes gesturing with his hands. A plastic, red bracelet with his mug shot clung to his left wrist. Until last week Verone had never been in trouble with the law. Now he hopes to be booked as a felon and held in prison where he can be treated for several physical afflictions. Medical challenges Verone worked for Coca-Cola for 17 years. He prided himself on keeping his nose to the grindstone. Don’t make enemies. Sell the product. Make your deliveries and stick to your schedule. When his career as a cola delivery man ended some three years ago, Verone was knocked out of his comfort zone. He hopped back in the saddle driving a truck. But that employment didn’t have near the longevity, and Verone found himself jobless. He lived off of savings and sought a part-time job. Not his first choice, Verone became a convenience store clerk. But the bending, standing and lifting were too much for him. The Gastonia man’s back ached; problems with his left foot caused him to limp. His knuckles swelled from arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome made daily tasks difficult. Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. Strapped for cash, Verone looked into filing for disability. He applied for early Social Security. The only thing Verone qualified for was food stamps. The extra money helped, but he felt desperate. He needed to get medical attention, and he refused to be a burden on his sister and brothers. “The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept,” he said. “I kind of hit a brick wall with everything.” Last resort A couple of months ago Verone started weighing his options. He considered turning to a homeless shelter and seeking medical help through charitable organizations. Then he had another idea: commit a crime and get set up with a place to stay, food and doctors. He started planning. As his bank account depleted and the day of execution got closer, Verone sold and donated his furniture. He paid his last month’s rent and gave his notice. He moved into the Hampton Inn for the last couple of days. Then on June 9 he followed his typical morning routine of getting ready for the day. He took a cab down New Hope Road and picked a bank at random — RBC Bank. Verone didn’t want to scare anyone. He executed the robbery the most passive way he knew how. He handed the teller a note demanding one dollar, and medical attention. “I didn’t have any fears,” said Verone. “I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police.” The teller, however, did have some fears even though Verone never showed a weapon. Her blood pressure shot up and once Verone was handcuffed by police, the teller was taken to Gaston Memorial Hospital to be checked out. Verone said he was sorry for causing the woman any pain. Political statement Verone says he’s not a political man. But he has a lot to say on the subject of socialized medical care. He suspects he wouldn’t be talking to a reporter through a metal screen wearing an orange jumpsuit if such an option were available in the U.S. “If you don’t have your health you don’t have anything,” said Verone. The man has high hopes with his recent incarceration. He has seen several nurses and has an appointment with a doctor Friday. The ideal scenario would include back and foot surgery and a diagnosis and treatment of the protrusion on his chest, he said. He would serve a few years in prison and get out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach. Crime and punishment Verone expected to be charged with bank robbery. Because he only demanded $1, he was charged with larceny from a person. Still a felony, the count doesn’t carry as much jail time as bank robbery. The bearded, gray-haired man plans to represent himself in court. He’s trying not to get too confident about his knowledge of the legal system. He just wants to prepare a statement for the judge and then take whatever active sentence he is given. Verone is considering an ultimatum if the penalty isn’t great enough, he said. The crime will happen again. On the record The day Verone set out to commit his first felony, he mailed a letter to The Gazette. He listed the return address as the Gaston County Jail. “When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me. This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar,” he wrote. “I am of sound mind but not so much sound body.” Verone wanted to talk to a reporter to make sure people knew why he turned to crime. He figured he had nothing to lose. “I knew that a felony would not hurt me. I cannot work anymore,” he said. “That felony is going to hurt my reputation.” Behind bars Verone has been in jail for a week. His $100,000 bond has been reduced to $2,000. He doesn’t intend to pay it. His residence is now the Gaston County Jail. He goes to breakfast and lunch each day but skips dinner. Dinner means nearly four hours in the general jail population, and Verone said he likes to minimize contact with other inmates. “I stay very quiet,” he said. Verone said he hears the other men talk about the revolving door that jail has become for them. He hopes he doesn’t join the ranks of the repeat offender. But today, he has no regrets about the robbery or where it landed him. “If I had not exercised all the alternatives I would be sitting here saying, ‘Man I feel bad about it,’” he said. But Verone said he thinks he made the right choice for his situation. “I picked jail.”[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.gastongazette.com/news/bank-58397-richard-hailed.html[/url]
obviously the american prison system is an example of slavery i mean they're just treated so terribly, right guys? right?
Well I guess it [i]is[/i] better than the streets.
You know something's wrong when prisoners get free health care but law-abiding citizens don't.
And when we have regular people pushed by medical problems to doing desperate things like this, our elected representatives voted to kill Medicare.
[QUOTE=TheBatman;30599819]You know something's wrong when prisoners get free health care but law-abiding citizens don't.[/QUOTE] Well what else are you supposed to do. Obviously they can't work for money while being in a cell, so how would they be able to pay for healthcare?
[QUOTE=TheBatman;30599819]You know something's wrong when prisoners get free health care but law-abiding citizens don't.[/QUOTE] There are laws for humane treatment of criminals/prisoners, not so much for your average citizen in health care, and sadly probably won't be any time soon in the U.S but hey we can still buy it. [editline]21st June 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Leintharien;30599898]Well what else are you supposed to do. Obviously they can't work for money while being in a cell, so how would they be able to pay for healthcare?[/QUOTE] There are such things as prison jobs like the workshop where they do something not sure what they make but hey thats work for them.
A homeless guy my grandpa drives around in a taxi did this a few years ago. It's sad, really. He's been in jail so many times for doing mundane things that he really likes it there better than the outside world. My grandpa told me that last time he stole some stuff he just sat out on a bench waiting for the cops to get there, and when they cuffed him he just told them he was "ready to go home".
[QUOTE=Doomish;30599966]A homeless guy my grandpa drives around in a taxi did this a few years ago. It's sad, really. He's been in jail so many times for doing mundane things that he really likes it there better than the outside world. My grandpa told me that last time he stole some stuff he just sat out on a bench waiting for the cops to get there, and when they cuffed him he just told them he was "ready to go home".[/QUOTE] Reminds me of Shawshank.
[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;30600000]Reminds me of Shawshank.[/QUOTE] [sp]In shawshank the old guy who got out hung himself in the halfway house.[/sp] Kinda the opposite of sitting outside on a park bench waiting for the police to get there. [editline]20th June 2011[/editline] What if a bunch of old people without jobs and health issues just decided to line up at a bank with notes like this?
[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;30600000]Reminds me of Shawshank.[/QUOTE] Actually, same here. Sorta. pretty sad. :frown:
The main reason the remission rate is so high is because the situation they're released into is 10 times worse than the prison situation. It just shows how bad the slums of America are.
[QUOTE=TheBatman;30599819]You know something's wrong when prisoners get free health care but law-abiding citizens don't.[/QUOTE] Well for one thing prisoners don't have the means to pay for it but average law abiding citizens with jobs do. I mean would it make more sense to charge people who don't make any money but have it free for those WITH money? Of course that's not to say having it free for both wouldn't be better.
[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;30600151]but average law abiding citizens with jobs do.[/QUOTE] Roughly 5% of the population disagrees with you.
So, America, could you guys finally fix up your shit?
"Supporters of Socialized Health Care More Likely to Commit Crime?"
[QUOTE=nikomo;30600722]So, America, could you guys finally fix up your shit?[/QUOTE] are you a communist? this man does NOT deserve my hard earned tax dollars. if he can't afford health care on his own then that's his own damn fault.
This is so sad.
[QUOTE=LCBADs;30600839]"Supporters of Socialized Health Care More Likely to Commit Crime?"[/QUOTE] :foxnews:[B]DO SOCIALIST VIEWS LEAD TO MORE CRIME? MORE AT 11[/B]:foxnews:
Cause you know, Coca-Cola salesman is a REALLY good career path you know! TBH its his fault for not finding a better spot in the ranks of the workforce. But whatever, I think Medicare should exist for 60 + (Because they really can't work man)
"its become a revolving door" thats terrible.
America at it's finest. [img]http://flagdog.facepunchstudios.com/?ipe=fd2bc941ff343614eab6ed8388942c68[/img] Wait a minute...
[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;30600151]Well for one thing prisoners don't have the means to pay for it but average law abiding citizens with jobs do. I mean would it make more sense to charge people who don't make any money but have it free for those WITH money? Of course that's not to say having it free for both wouldn't be better.[/QUOTE] Like was said before, prisoners are offered jobs for meager amount of money, still enough to buy small amounts of things, though. And, if you bothered to read the article he said he was in almost unbearable pain, he applied for disabilities pay but was refused. You tell me how you're supposed to work efficiently while in constant pain. Face it, health care in America is backwards.
amazing story its hilarious how crazily opposed we are to socialism when socialism is everywhere we just dont whine about it because we're used to it
On the flip side here in Canada, citizens who don't contribute a damn thing here in Canada (skip taxes, bringing massive families here) leach off of our healthcare, and if you're going to the ER you better find something to do while you're there. I was at the ER for 6 hours before I left, since I'm (slightly) under the legal age of an adult, I had to wait in the children's queue. For hours, all I saw were other people being bumped ahead of me with 'serious injuries' (or soccer moms yelling at the receptionist about their kids cough) There's no real inbetween system, but it's not right if the guy has to commit a crime just to get his healthcare
Why didn't the guy just move to Canada?
America should ask all the other successful countries that have free healthcare about how they did it. And then combine it and fix our healthcare.
[QUOTE=glitchvid;30601030] TBH its his fault for not finding a better spot in the ranks of the workforce.[/QUOTE] No it isn't lol Do corporate interests in America really have the public believing this shit It's worse than I thought
[QUOTE=glitchvid;30601030]Cause you know, Coca-Cola salesman is a REALLY good career path you know! TBH its his fault for not finding a better spot in the ranks of the workforce. But whatever, I think Medicare should exist for 60 + (Because they really can't work man)[/QUOTE] Bootstraps parasites invisible hand rabble rabble rabble.
[QUOTE=Unreliable;30601587]America should ask all the other successful countries that have free healthcare about how they did it. And then combine it and fix our healthcare.[/QUOTE] We're too proud for that shit.
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