6/17/2008

They Settled Virginia Tech Today

They've reached a settlement in the Virginia Tech killings, and the Judge approved the agreement today. I'm not sure how I feel about this, or what I think.

I hope that these 24 families get some closure from today's ruling. What happened on that campus was such a horror, with so many of the victims, so young. So many years stolen from them.

I think about the legal fees. I wonder what the cut was. Forty percent - fifty? Plus expenses before the families see a dime? That's not unreasonable, that's sorta standard these days. How much of that $11 million will the 24 families really get?

I think about litigation from a legal perspective, and how being an attorney turned into a business somewhere in the past 30 years or so, and reading this newstory today makes me sad.

Did anyone sue the University of Texas after the sniper, Charles Whitman, shot students at random from the Tower? Did anyone ever seriously think to do so?

How responsible can any university truly be when someone with a severe mental illness turns violent?

Do we, as a society, really think money is this powerful and important?

Just some of the things I'm pondering this evening. My condolences to everyone who was harmed by the Virginia Tech Tragedy, as well.