“Why did the system fail Star Murrah?” was informative and well-researched (The Columbian, Nov. 14). Nevertheless, I disagree with the headline.
Systems don’t fail. Systems are just that: inanimate and, to an extent, intangible entities. They consist, among other things, of procedures, rules, guidelines, and elected or appointed positions. It is the people working within the system that causes it to fail or succeed. It is they who control the outcomes of the matters that the system is designed to address.
The primary responsibility for the death of Ms. Murrah is, of course, that of the perpetrator. However, Superior Court Commissioner Carin Schienberg must also bear responsibility, since it was she who refused to issue a protective order despite compelling evidence as reported in the article.
I concede that we will never know whether such an order would have prevented this tragedy. In my 40-plus years as a practicing attorney in the state of Michigan, I have encountered situations where a protective order was not worth much more than the paper on which it was printed. However, Ms. Murrah was entitled to due consideration. If we continue to blame “the system” for tragedies, rather than those responsible, nothing will change.
