The Organ Donor Debate

Convict Kenneth L. Pike has been raising heated debates across the nation. He was convicted for raping and sodomizing a 12-year-old girl in 1996 and his current release date is 2035. However, when it was revealed that he was being evaluated for a heart transplant, people demanded to know if someone who could commit such a heartless crime deserved a heart transplant.

New York taxpayers were especially displeased. Their tax money would be going towards Pike’s $800,000 procedure that he would die without.

The United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the nation’s organ transplant system, explained that it is illegal to deny a patient for non-medical reasons. The reason for that could be traced back to a Supreme Court decision in 1976. The decision provided convicts with the same medical and dental treatments as those in their community. If this ruling were not obeyed, it would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Officials of New York’s Department of Correctional and Community Services also mentioned that convicts in the past have received organ and bone marrow transplants.

Senior Annie Valocchi said, “Should one terrible mistake make someone a terrible person?” Her and Junior Anwen Parrott agreed that Pike should still be able to have the operation. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” said Parrott.
Many other Americans agreed on this point of view. However, their support was not enough against the hatred for Pike. The pressure became so much that Pike chose to be taken off from the transplant list.

Pike is eligible for parole in 2013. However, Pike’s sister, Sharon Cardinal, shared with Fox23 News that he doesn’t think he will be paroled, which contributed to him rejecting the heart transplant. Cardinal said, “He doesn’t want to live this life no more.”