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A healthcare worker in Georgia has been arrested and slapped with a felony charge after a video surfaced showing her twerking over the head of a disabled man.
19-year-old Lucrecia Kormassa Koiyan, who worked in healthcare, now faces a charge of exploitation of a disabled person after she filmed herself performing an inappropriate dance over the man. The video was later posted on social media, sparking outrage.
In the footage, Koiyan is seen wearing her scrubs and stethoscope, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of her actions, as she filmed herself dancing above her victim.
"I was appalled and deeply disturbed that anyone would stoop so low as to create a video featuring a vulnerable, disabled person in such a manner," remarked Loganville Police Chief M.D. Lowry. "Our foremost duty as law enforcement is to safeguard those who are unable to protect themselves, and my detectives worked tirelessly to ensure those responsible were held accountable."
The incident has left many questioning the boundaries of professionalism and respect within healthcare settings, with local authorities promising swift action in addressing such deplorable behaviour.
In a related felony case reported by Pulse, on 27th April 2017, Jack Talaska, a lawyer serving the underprivileged in Lafayette, Louisiana, found himself handling 194 felony cases. High-level felonies, which carry sentences of 10 years or more, are expected to receive 70 hours of legal attention each, according to a workload study. For Talaska, this amounted to over two years' worth of full-time work. Mid-tier felonies require 41 hours per case.
Some of Talaska’s clients faced the possibility of life imprisonment without parole, and these cases typically demand 201 hours of work each.
In total, Talaska was expected to perform the work of five full-time lawyers to properly serve his clients.
Talaska’s situation was not unique. Among public defenders in Louisiana dealing with felony cases at the time, there were at least two dozen others who were managing even larger caseloads. One had a staggering 413 cases.
At first glance, these numbers might seem to breach constitutional rights. In the United States, individuals who cannot afford a lawyer are entitled to competent legal representation, and many defendants rely on attorneys like Talaska to safeguard their futures.
However, there has never been a guarantee that these lawyers will have the time needed to properly handle each case. This is why the aforementioned study, which examined the caseloads of public defenders, is so important.
At present, courts permit individuals to claim ineffective defence if they lose their case, though the threshold is high. Some judges have ruled that actions such as taking illegal drugs, driving to court under the influence, or briefly nodding off during crucial testimony do not automatically amount to inadequate representation.
It is even more challenging to argue that the sheer volume of cases handled by public defenders renders it impossible to provide the level of defence mandated by the Constitution. This is partly because there has never been a universally accepted standard for how much time a lawyer needs to properly represent their client.