“It just seemed they decided he’s a troublemaker, and that’s not true,” she said in August 2013.
Attempts to reach Hamilton for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.
People who receive transplants must adhere to strict medication regimens to keep their bodies from rejecting the organs. A person can be disqualified if hospital officials think the patient won’t stick to that regimen, has no support system or an inability to pay for expensive anti-rejection medicines.
At the time Stokes was diagnosed, doctors said he would die within six to nine months without a transplant, Hamilton said. The hospital reversed course and Stokes received a heart after his mother and critics from civil rights organizations contended he was denied the heart because he was poor, black and had trouble with the law, which his mother said was for fighting.
After a failed burglary attempt of a Roswell apartment, Stokes apparently escaped in a stolen Honda Accord and lost control of the car, hitting a pedestrian after being chased by police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The pedestrian is in stable condition at an Atlanta hospital.
Police reports say Stokes was arrested 11 times between 2010 and 2015 on a variety of weapons, burglary, truancy, auto theft, weapons, arson and terrorist threat charges.
After the transplant, Stokes was arrested twice more for shoplifting and weapons charges.
(Photo: Channel 2 News)
With his history, did Stokes deserve a second chance? Will this impact future transplant decisions? Let us know what you think.
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Teenager Refused Heart Because Of Record Dies In Police Chase was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
