Vulnerable: If you look this word up in a thesaurus it means helpless, powerless, in a weak position.

This word is a key word in the case against Brianna Broitzman and Ashton Larson of Albert Lea. These two former part-time nursing assistants at Good Samaritan nursing home have been charged with multiple counts of abuse to vulnerable adults.

Helpless is a place that no one ever chooses to be, but sadly age can bring about both health and mental fatigue. It can make once proud and spry people feel very scared and alone.

Powerless can be because of loss of muscle and tissue as a result of an injury or through time as you grow older because of wear and tear on your body. It may also mean the loss of mental capabilities as power in some people equates from the intelligence that they have acquired through years of study and observation.

Being in a weak position is really a culmination of being both powerless and helpless. It further sometimes requires that a person or persons will try to take advantage of your vulnerability and place you in a weak position. This will sometimes happen because of the insecurities of the person in power or because the person in power has no moral compass.

This case is very disturbing.

Most of us are taught to be the defenders of the helpless and powerless. You should protect the vulnerable or at the very least, not add to there vulnerabilities by taking advantage of what has weakened them.

Please Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson, defend the vulnerable. Protect the powerless.