A story out of Elko, Nevada tells about a 48-year-old mother who has been arrested regarding the drug overdose of her 18-year-old son.
Jane Getty’s son had his wisdom teeth pulled and he was in pain. His dentist had given him two pain pills which he took, but they didn’t ease the pain enough for him. He asked his mother to give him some money so that he could buy some heroin just to ease the pain. She did. He died of an overdose and was found in his home the next day, October 20, 2011.
So many questions arise from a story like this. It's the second heroin overdose death in the news for October.
First of all, will the mother be found guilty simply for giving him $50? She didn’t actually give him the heroin, and she didn’t wish him ill will. She simply gave in to his pleas. From the time a baby is born, it’s always a difficult dance a parent, and especially a mother, well, dances, as she never wants to see her little one in pain, but yet wants him to grow up to be a balanced, well-adjusted individual. Not knowing much about their background, it could be that this was a regular thing, or it could be that it was a fluke.
Second, she probably didn’t realize the harm that could come from taking too many painkillers and especially from adding in heroin, although it is actually not a whole lot worse than Percocet, Vicodin, and Oxycodone.
Third, one has to wonder whether the dentist gave him strict instructions regarding how much it was safe to take and what else he could and could not have.
Fourth, so many people have lived through the extraction of wisdom teeth. Was he not accustomed to living with pain for a short period of time? Did he feel that he had to get to work or somewhere else rather than going home and sleeping and taking it easy?
We don’t know.
The worst part of the story is that Jane Getty lost her son, and other people lost their friend, or perhaps their sibling or cousin. The next worse part is that now she is being charged with causing his death, and whether she gets thrown into prison or given some other punishment, or even if she gets off scot-free, she will always live with that decision, going over the conversation again and again in her mind, wishing that she could go back and change what she did.
On the one hand, that might be punishment enough. On the other hand, the judge and/or jury will have to decide whether it’s necessary to find her guilty.
