When Escaping From Jail . . . Watch Your Step

In what seems like something out of a cartoon, authorities in Alton, Texas are reporting that a pair of inmates, Jesus Albert Suarez Chavez, 17, and Roman Orozco Martinez, 22, were caught attempting to escape from the jail. While capturing a prisoner is not very note worthy, how they captured one of them is. During their escape attempt through the air conditioner vents, one of the inmates fell through the ceiling into the office of Police Chief Baldemar Flores. The other inmate was captured attempting to get into the air vent. Needless to say, the walking on ceiling tiles was probably not the best way to escape.

When I heard about this I had two totally different feelings. First, I was reminded of all of the stupid criminal acts, such as robbing a police officer or asking an officer for dope. But then, the cynical side of me perked up and started to wonder if the inmates were then going to sue for possible injuries. In a world where McDonalds can be sued for hot coffee why couldn't the city or the ceiling manufacturer or installer be sued. Was there a warning in the air vent that it could not handle the weight of the person? Maybe it is me, but if we have so many stupid labels on things, maybe the air vents should have them too?