Con disfigured by suicide attempt costs taxpayers arm and a leg
Filed under: Tax
On June 30, 2002, Daryl Strenke paid his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Verby, a visit at her home. He told her that he wanted to talk. When she invited him in, he aimed a 12-gauge shotgun at her and fired, killing her instantly. Verby's 7-year-old daughter was just a few feet away.Strenke then turned the gun on himself, in an apparent suicide effort. He failed. He did, however, manage to blow off half of his face. The disfigured Strenke is now serving a 30-year prison sentence for intentional homicide. Normally, that would be the end of the story.
However, Strenke's bungled suicide attempt left him with significant injuries that make it nearly impossible for him to eat or speak normally. According to Strenke's mother, Darlene, he has no teeth and only part of a nose. He is, she says, in constant pain.
As a result, this month, the Columbia Correctional Institute will begin a series of expensive surgeries to repair his face. Who is fitting the bill for the surgeries? Wisconsin taxpayers.
Strenke will have the surgeries in prison, free of charge to him. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections explained that there is a legal responsibility "to deliver adequate health care to inmates under its custody." That apparently includes health care issues caused by the individual inmate.
While actual dollar estimates weren't available for the surgery, many suggested that the series of surgeries could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, not including up to three months of "post-op" recovery. By way of comparison, the cost of a more routine outpatient cosmetic procedure like a "regular" face lift can be as high as nearly $20,000, anesthesia and hospital fees included.
Spending that kind of money doesn't sit well with many taxpayers in Wisconsin, where the government expects a shortfall of nearly $6.6 billion for the annual budget. In order to fill the holes in the budget, the Governor had proposed serious cuts, including laying off more than 1,100 state workers. At a time when many law-abiding citizens are suffering, many wonder why a convicted killer should get such a break?
Strenke's mother, Darlene, understands this sentiment but says, at the end of the day, prisoners deserve to be treated fairly. She adds, "They're still a human being."
Samantha Verby's mother, however, feels that Strenke should have to live with the consequences of his crime.
What do you think? Did the Department of Corrections get it right? Or should Strenke have to live with the consequences?<
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-19-2009 @ 10:55AM
Michael said...
Of all the disgusting things I have ever heard. The guy murders this woman in front of her child and he got only 30 years?
Then the fool blows off half of his face and the TAXPAYERS have to pay?
This is just as bad as any bailout/banker's bonuses. So he is in pain every day....suck on a couple of aspirin.
And if his piece of crap mom is so worried about her filthy murdering son....PAY for the surgery yourself!
Wisconsin citizens.....call your state lawmakers/congressperson and demand this doesn't take place on your hard earned dime.
We as a nation always worry more about the criminal then the victims.
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10-19-2009 @ 1:58PM
Brian said...
First, 30 yrs for murdering a mother in front of her child! He should have recieved the death penalty and be buried by now. If you deal lightly with murders, society will pay a price. In this instance it is in dollars, which is insignifcant compared to the innocent people that are killed due to the lack of consequences for such crimes.
As to his mother stating that prisoners are human beings, anyone who violates the sanctity of human life forfits theirs and brings themselves to the level of an animal. Even in the most liberal of places animals that take human lives are put to sleep for the protection of society. Murderers have no right to be considered human.
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10-19-2009 @ 3:22PM
D said...
Give him that shotgun and let him try it again.
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10-19-2009 @ 4:39PM
Jd said...
Hang in there Daryl, Obama care is on its way.
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10-19-2009 @ 4:53PM
Laura said...
He wants these surgeries so that he can live a 'normal' life after his sentence. And he wants someone else to pay for them--plain and simple. Too bad his ex-girlfriend (and her daughter) never got the chance to live a normal life.
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10-27-2009 @ 8:34PM
Janice said...
He must have a Boyfriend in there who wants him to look pretty.
10-19-2009 @ 8:05PM
RB said...
All the pain and suffering in the world can't compare with the agony he has caused to this woman's family. They can't get any relief from their pain.... why should he?
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11-07-2009 @ 5:17PM
Kate said...
Stories like this just annoy the hell out of me. Having worked as a nurse in the correctional setting in various states and at the county jail and state prison levels, unfortunately this does not surprise me. It is one thing to provide basic medical/dental care but this is unbelievable !!!! What about the pain and suffering that Verby's daughter and family have to endure everyday? Just because you can't even kill yourself right, why should the community have to pay for your medical expenses? The correctional institutes always seem to get themselves in a bind based on the legal verbage needed to CYA. Then you get lawyers and such that find the loopholes in that verbage and push it to the limit....There is a LEGAL system in this country, but not always a JUSTICE system.
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10-27-2009 @ 8:33PM
Janice said...
Thank our wonderful Government,They had rather treat a MURDERER than help my MOTHER,who has cancer.GO USA
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10-27-2009 @ 8:35PM
Janice said...
I am disabled and a senior citizen,my eyelids are drooping so bad it is getting hard to see,If I go beat someone up and go to jail for a little while.Do you think our GOVERNMENT will fix me for free?
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