This tragedy could have been avoided had Sandra Bland been able to meet with a defense attorney and known she had rights such as being placed in protective custody, receiving medical care, being moved to a behavioral health center to receive psychiatric care if she felt suicidal or that she was not of sound mind, and most importantly, that the arresting officer had not followed correct procedure and she most likely would not have been tried and sentenced to prison time. Nothing like this should ever be allowed to happen again, and the only way to prevent further incidents is to guarantee everyone their Constitutional right to counsel, no matter what time of day or night they've been arrested. Defense attorneys should be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet with all arrestees.



