Woman Killed in Fire Was Without Utilities

In a Washington Post article authored by Keith L. Alexander highlights how an elderly woman died because her utilities were shutoff.

She was known by many on her block as Ms. Bessie or as the Cat Lady because she loved to feed the stray cats in the neighborhood.

Now, many neighbors of Bessie D. Sanders, 65, are lamenting a tragedy that could have been prevented. Sanders was killed Jan. 17 when her two-story brick rowhouse in the 900 block of Delafield Place NW caught fire. Investigators said the blaze was started by a candle that Sanders kept burning in her bedroom. She used candles because her utilities -- electricity, gas and water -- had been shut off months ago for lack of payment, authorities said.

How can we allow our elderly and impoverished to die because they cannot afford basic services to survive? Is the greed and need for shareholder return too great to realize the value of individual lives?