Why you should never name something after a living person - the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility

I don't have to worry about this happening personally, but I have a strong belief that monuments should not be erected to people who are still living. Whether you're talking about a park, or a school, or whatever, it is premature to honor someone while he or she is still alive.

The person might be the greatest person in the world, but - but -

Let's take the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility in Colorado. This jail was named in honor of a former Arapahoe County Sheriff, honored as sheriff of the year. According to an Arapahoe County web page:

The Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility has come a long way since Arapahoe County opened its one-room jail house in 1865. Located at 7375 S. Potomac St., Centennial, the Detention Facility, which opened in 1987 and renamed by the Board of County Commissioners in 2002 to honor former Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan, is a 299,241-square-foot facility with the capacity to house 1,166 inmates.

Sullivan retired in 2002...and ran into trouble in 2011, caught in a sting operation in which he would only deal meth to men who had sex with him.

Arapahoe County people are shocked, but it just goes to show that you never know who a person is, or who a person will become.