If you do a quick internet search on the idea of how we should treat the least among us, you’ll get quite a few responses from a number of points of view. For some, the issue of how you treat the downtrodden is a matter of religion and may quote (as Mother Teresa often did) Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

There are also lots of secular folks with thoughts on how to deal with our fellow humans. Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “the meticulous care for the rights of the least among us is the sin qua non of nonviolence.” The ridiculously talented John Legend noted “a just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don’t even know.”

Heck, even Oprah had some thoughts on the matter, stating: “I firmly believe that none of us in this world have made it until the least among us have made it.” I’m guessing that you, dear reader, have similar thoughts, in that an important measure of a society is how we treat those we deem subjugated and defeated.

Right?

Well, a recent Colorado Politics story reminded me that there is one group of folks that quite a few people are absolutely OK with being treated poorly, especially by the government: prisoners.

Now, there are lots of important questions to be asked about our criminal justice system – such as the role of poverty in not making bail, race, educational level, gender, and many more – that are beyond the scope of this essay. Today, I just want to focus on one guy, Christopher Tanner, who was in jail after being found guilty of a crime, was sentenced to a relatively short time in jail and was ordered to complete a drug treatment program. So, there is no issue here regarding his guilt, only what happened to him while he was in custody.

Back in March 2020, Tanner was locked up in the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center when he woke up with flu-like symptoms that were, well, nasty. He was clearly sick. However, given the role of COVID in jailhouse illnesses, there was not a quick response to his condition by the authorities. Over the course of a number of hours, Tanner got sicker and sicker, and his cellmate repeatedly tried to get the attention of the jail staff but was largely ignored. Even when his temperature reached 105.8-degrees they did little, other than accuse him of taking drugs in jail.

Finally, after 36 hours of anguish, he was taken to the hospital, where they found his blood oxygen level to be around 80%, when it should be 95-100%. The infection had reallytaken  hold, and his hands and feet turned black from lack of blood flow. The doctors ultimately had to amputate -yes, amputate – his limbs.

Now even if you really and truly think that people who break the law should be treated harshly, surely there is none among us who would think that it’s OK to let things get so bad that a person has to have his hands and feet cut off?

Not surprisingly, Tanner is suing the people in charge, arguing that his illness was ignored (which certainly seems to be the case) and that, therefore, his constitutional rights were violated. The Colorado Department of Corrections argues that the staff has qualified immunity and can’t be sued. A federal magistrate judge just ruled in Tanner’s favor, and so it appears a trial can go forward.

Which brings me back to the points I tried to make above regarding how we treat people. For most of us, who have no contact with the justice system, treating prisoners harshly can seem not only reasonable but desirable. Again, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time…

But what level of sustenance and support should jailers provide to prisoners? Imagine for a moment that your dear old mom (or dad, or someone you really like) totally by accident had their drink spiked at an office party, and got a DUI driving home, after they ran over a stop sign. And let’s further say that the judge in that case decided to make an example and sentenced your loved one to, say, 30 days in jail. What can you reasonably expect from the jail regarding your mommy?

Well, certainly you should expect that they be fed, albeit not with a lot of meal choices. And you would expect them to be warm in the winter and provided with a toothbrush and other basics. That’s reasonable, right?

But what if, while she’s in jail, mommy wakes up in the night with flu-like symptoms, such as we saw above? Shouldn’t the staff be very proactive in getting medical treatment for the prisoner? Or is it OK to let your mom suffer and ultimately lose her limbs?

It is hardly mollycoddling (a word I spelled correctly on the first try!) to provide the basics to a prisoner. Food, a blanket, a place to use the restroom, and such, are all reasonable, right? And when a person is in the direct custody of the government, isn’t it also right for needed medical treatment to be provided?

Tanner will never again use a hand or a foot, regardless of the outcome of the case. But perhaps his case can signal to those (almost entirely good) folks running our jails to be more attentive, even to the least among us?

Mother Teresa and Oprah would agree.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.