Hold Foti Accountable
(8/02 /2007) - Baton Rouge Business NEws
Attorney General Charles Foti fired and missed. Now he's the target, and should be fired by the voters of Louisiana.
A year after Foti was grandstanding in a press conference announcing charges of murder against Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses, an Orleans Parish grand jury refused to indict. District Attorney Eddie Jordan said, "I think the grand jury did the right thing. The grand jury considered all the evidence - carefully considered. They concluded no crime had been committed."
Remaining unbowed, Foti said after the grand jury announcement, "I am very proud of our efforts on behalf of the victims and their families."
The Times-Picayune had previously reported that Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard said the physical evidence collected does not support a finding of homicide and he left the four deaths as "undetermined." Foti said he had experts with findings to the contrary but said they were not called before the grand jury.
A nurse who was there at the hospital the week after Katrina told The Times Picayune, "It was unbearable to witness the suffering and the agony these patients had to endure while we waited many days for rescue. This investigation has only festered our deep wounds, and we cannot begin the healing process until Dr. Pou is fully exonerated."
Foti's politics added three more victims to the list for Katrina - Dr. Pou and the two nurses. No question that people died - at least 34 at Memorial hospital. But the doctors and nurses who could have evacuated stayed behind to save lives, not take them. While I know it must be tough for the families to accept, targeting Dr. Pou as someone to blame was wrong and now Foti must be held accountable by the voters.
