Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice, or to
kill or slaughter inhumanely, or barbarously.
So, what is it then when an electric company turns off the power to a helpless elderly war veteran causing him to die a slow, painful death alone freezing in his house?
By now most of you have probably heard the story. Marvin Schur of Bay City, Mich. was a 93-year-old WWII veteran who had been living by himself since the death of his wife a little over a year ago.
Schur was found frozen to death on Jan. 17 only four days after Bay City Electric Light & Power placed a limiting device on his house that would cut off power due to him having a balance of around $1,000 of unpaid bills.
The only way to reset the limiter is to go outside and do so, and neighbors have stated that Schur rarely was seen outside, especially given the extreme cold that we were experiencing at that time.
As a result Mr. Schur’s body was found under layers of clothes and blankets and his oven door was open presumably as an attempt by him to heat his house in the absence of electric power.
Michigan law prohibits private electric companies from cutting off power to senior citizens during the winter months, but since Bay City runs their own electric company, they were immune to this law.
Ultimately a man who had no reason to die was killed because he hadn’t paid his electric bills. Upon investigating the scene, police found various bills on his kitchen table, some of which had the payments paper clipped to them.
Schur not only had more than enough money to pay his bills, but he also had quite the nest egg which became known when he left a sum of $600,000 to a Bay City hospital.
What happened to businesses calling someone or personally visiting them when they’re owed money? Why didn’t a representative first visit Schur to discuss the non-payment of his bills?
Perhaps they did, we may not know while the case is still under investigation. James Mitchell, a WMU student thinks that if the company went through the proper steps of notification then they cannot be held liable.
“I think if the company gave him his notices and told him they were going to shut off his power then I think it’s the guys fault. If there was zero communication (from Schur) then they had the right to do that.”
Reports have said that Schur, who had lived in Bay City for many years, had been a customer of Bay City Electric Light & Power for decades without a late payment.
It only would have taken a click of the mouse for the electric company to have realized that Schur was a 93-year-old-man; that along with an exceptional payment history should have warranted something more than simply going straight to cutting the power.
If this story doesn’t infuriate you then there is something terribly wrong. Were the actions of the electric company unlawful? Maybe not technically, but in every other sense of the word they were.
This is a story that could hit home for nearly everyone. This could have been our grandparents who are similar in age to Schur and many of which experience either Alzheimer’s, dementia, or some sort of memory lapses.
In the not too distant future this could be our parents; now that really hits home.
Someone in Bay City needs to be held accountable for this completely inexcusable death. Schur was a patriot, an upstanding citizen, and a loving member of his family.
One could argue that at 93 he had lived a full and happy life, but that is no excuse. Every day is precious and that is no way for anybody, especially a helpless senior citizen, to have to die.
The Bay County Prosecutor’s Office didn’t have much to say about the matter.
“We don’t have any information that we can give out at this time. The case is still being investigated by the Michigan State Police.”
The number for Bay City Electric Light & Power is 989-894-8350. The mayor’s office is 989-894-8189, and the Bay County Prosecutor’s Office is 989-895-4185. Feel free to let them know how you feel; they’d love to hear from you.
All we can do now is hope that Schur won’t have died in vain. God rest his soul and may our laws hold someone accountable.
Andrew Mell, a Western Herald opinion columnist, is a senior majoring in aviation, and can be reached via e-mail at melltimejr@hotmail.com.
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