Oh-oh……

The circumstances are of course, not the same. For one thing we do not know if any of the victims of the Bush Torture Program have committed suicide…..yet.

But I have always speculated that part of our government’s response to the issue of torture and illegal detention, rendition, etc hasn’t been at least influenced by crass financial considerations.

If so….Oh-oh

MIAMI – A judge on Friday awarded more than $1 billion in damages against the Cuban government for the 1959 suicide of the father of a Cuban-American man who was involved in the CIA-backed capture and killing of revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

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“The undisputed evidence at trial established that defendants’ conduct rose to such a level of depravity that they caused Mr. Villoldo to take his life, and their actions are properly classified as torture,” Adrien said in a seven-page decision.

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The father was beaten, deprived of food, interrogated for days and repeatedly told he would be executed as a purported U.S. agent.

Soon after the man’s release from jail, Guevara visited the elder Villoldo personally and forced him to choose either death by firing squad himself or the execution of his son, Alters said. He chose to die, then opted for suicide rather than giving Guevara and Castro the satisfaction of killing him.

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The lawsuit filed last year sought damages against the Cuban government, Fidel and Raul Castro and Guevara for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Adrien awarded nearly $1.2 billion: $393 million in economic damages suffered by the family; $393 million for pain and suffering; and $393 million in punitive damages.

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“They can’t get away with torture and then expect to get back into the U.S. economy,” he said.

Now, if this situation unfolded in the USA the family of those involved would likely go to a legal firm (such as https://www.gartlaninjurylaw.com/wrongful-death-lawyer/) to deal with this situation. Regardless, I emphasize again the different circumstances.

In case you were not aware, a wrongful death claim is a special kind of lawsuit brought when someone dies as a result of the defendant’s negligent or intentional actions. Put simply, wrongful death claims allow the estate and/or those close to a deceased person to file a lawsuit against the party who is legally liable for the death.

While wrongful death laws vary on a state by state basis, these kinds of lawsuits are usually filed by a representative of the deceased person’s estate, often on behalf of surviving family members affected by the death. You can learn more about wrongful death cases by doing some research online.

All that being said, a billion dollar award for torture and wrongful death multiplied by the number of Bush victims does not bode well for justice in a country where money is valued above human life.