{"id":20714,"date":"2017-06-28T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T04:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=20714"},"modified":"2017-06-28T06:56:53","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T10:56:53","slug":"manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(<em>Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, June 28, 2017) In a move that could portend broader action in the case of environmental crimes, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/flint-water-crisis-involuntary-manslaughter-charges-lead-to-prison-time\">f<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/flint-water-crisis-involuntary-manslaughter-charges-lead-to-prison-time\">iled charges of involuntary manslaughter<\/a>\u00a0against five state <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-20749\" src=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>officials in a death resulting from Flint&#8217;s water crisis. While most criminal charges resulting from environmental mishaps and disasters are filed against corporations or their CEOs, <a href=\"http:\/\/digitalcommons.law.wne.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1760&amp;context=lawreview\">one law review<\/a> article notes, \u201cProsecutors have become aggressive in seeking out responsible parties. The net of criminal liability is no longer limited to those directly involved in causing the disaster, but may now extend to those involved in the response, as well as officials whose derelictions in office helped create the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In announcing the charges,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/ag\/0,4534,7-164--423854--,00.html\">the Attorney General stated<\/a>, \u201cAll defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in relation to the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, Michigan. Skidmore died of Legionnaires\u2019 disease after many others had been diagnosed with the illness, yet no public outbreak notice had been issued. The charges allege failure to notify and lack of action to stop the outbreak allowed the disease to continue its spread through Flint\u2019s water system.\u201d Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and\/or a $7,500 fine. While a total of 51 charges were filed against 15 public officials, the Attorney General\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/documents\/ag\/Flint+Water+Interim+Report_575711_7.pdf\">investigation<\/a> found that a number of other government employees did seek to inform officials and ensure that the public was protected.<\/p>\n<p>The city of Flint switched water sources, but failed to ensure that lead would not leach from antiquated lead pipes, threatening thousands of children. In addition, several Flint-area residents died of Legionnaires\u2019 disease in the time immediately following the switch from Detroit Water and Sewer Department to the Flint River. The corrosive conditions that promoted leaching of lead <a href=\"http:\/\/cen.acs.org\/articles\/94\/web\/2016\/07\/Legionnairesoutbreaks-Flint-linked-corrosive-tap.html\">also provided ideal growing conditions<\/a>\u00a0for the Legionella bacteria. The Attorney General\u2019s investigation found that public officials who knew of the dangers nevertheless refused to correct the situation due to \u201ca fixation, a preoccupation, with data, finances and costs, instead of placing the health, safety and welfare of citizens first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The net of criminal liability is no longer limited to those directly involved in causing the disaster, but may now extend to those involved in the response, as well as officials whose derelictions in office helped create the risk.\u201d Since public officials make decisions that allow hazardous activities \u2013such as spraying dangerous chemicals\u2013 while acknowledging risks to innocent people, property, and ecosystems, it is surprising that they are not often targeted for prosecution. International law holds to principles \u2013<a href=\"http:\/\/deoxy.org\/wc\/wc-nurem.htm\">Nuremberg principles<\/a>\u00a0created in response to Nazi atrocities\u2014 holding government officials responsible for violations of international law, even when they are acting under orders of superiors.<\/p>\n<p>A case in point might be the decisions made by the Environmental Protection Agency in registering pesticides, to allow an \u201cacceptable risk\u201d of cancer. The victims of these decisions \u2013unlike Holocaust victims or Robert Skidmore, who died of Legionnaires disease as a result of the Flint water crisis\u2014are nameless statistics. A <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/02\/class-action-cases-monsanto-move-ahead-charging-cancer-effects-roundup\/\">lawsuit against Monsanto<\/a>\u00a0by sufferers of non-Hodgkins lymphoma attaches faces to the statistics. It also issues\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/03\/monsanto-epa-collude-fight-cancer-classification-roundup-glyphosate-according-court-released-documents\/\">charges of collusion between Monsanto and EPA officials<\/a>\u00a0concerning the evaluation of the carcinogenicity of glyphosate, resulting in an <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/inspector-general-investigates-alleged-monsanto-epa-collusion-reject-glyphosate-cancer-classification\/\">EPA Inspector General investigation<\/a>\u00a0of the charges.<\/p>\n<p>An example of the kind of action for which the Michigan Attorney General levied charges against state officials might be <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/groups-ags-challenge-epa-decision-allow-insecticide-chlorpyrifos-agriculture\/\">EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt\u2019s overruling of the judgment<\/a>\u00a0of agency scientists that chlorpyrifos presents unacceptable risks to humans and the environment.<\/p>\n<p>Underlying these faulty decisions is the assumption that toxic chemicals are the only alternatives available. Incorporation of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/programs\/organic-agriculture\/overview\">organic alternatives<\/a>\u00a0could improve decision-making that is currently limited to balancing one toxic material against another with the same limited \u201cfixation . . . with data, finances and costs, instead of placing the health, safety and welfare of citizens first\u201d found in Flint.<\/p>\n<p>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/flint-water-crisis-involuntary-manslaughter-charges-lead-to-prison-time\">ProPublica<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/ag\/0,4534,7-164--423854--,00.html\">Michigan Attorney General press release<\/a><\/p>\n<p>All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides, June 28, 2017) In a move that could portend broader action in the case of environmental crimes, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed charges of involuntary manslaughter\u00a0against five state officials in a death resulting from Flint&#8217;s water crisis. While most criminal charges resulting from environmental mishaps and disasters are filed against corporations or their CEOs, one law review article notes, \u201cProsecutors have become aggressive in seeking out responsible parties. The net of criminal liability is no longer limited to those directly involved in causing the disaster, but may now extend to those involved in the response, as well as officials whose derelictions in office helped create the risk.\u201d In announcing the charges,\u00a0the Attorney General stated, \u201cAll defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in relation to the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, Michigan. Skidmore died of Legionnaires\u2019 disease after many others had been diagnosed with the illness, yet no public outbreak notice had been issued. The charges allege failure to notify and lack of action to stop the outbreak allowed the disease to continue its spread through Flint\u2019s water system.\u201d Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and\/or a $7,500 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,78,19,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environmental-justice","category-michigan","category-statelocal","category-water"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, June 28, 2017) In a move that could portend broader action in the case of environmental crimes, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed charges of involuntary manslaughter\u00a0against five state officials in a death resulting from Flint&#8217;s water crisis. While most criminal charges resulting from environmental mishaps and disasters are filed against corporations or their CEOs, one law review article notes, \u201cProsecutors have become aggressive in seeking out responsible parties. The net of criminal liability is no longer limited to those directly involved in causing the disaster, but may now extend to those involved in the response, as well as officials whose derelictions in office helped create the risk.\u201d In announcing the charges,\u00a0the Attorney General stated, \u201cAll defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in relation to the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, Michigan. Skidmore died of Legionnaires\u2019 disease after many others had been diagnosed with the illness, yet no public outbreak notice had been issued. The charges allege failure to notify and lack of action to stop the outbreak allowed the disease to continue its spread through Flint\u2019s water system.\u201d Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and\/or a $7,500 [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-28T04:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-06-28T10:56:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-28T04:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-28T10:56:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Environmental Justice\",\"Michigan\",\"State\/Local\",\"Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/\",\"name\":\"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning - 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While most criminal charges resulting from environmental mishaps and disasters are filed against corporations or their CEOs, one law review article notes, \u201cProsecutors have become aggressive in seeking out responsible parties. The net of criminal liability is no longer limited to those directly involved in causing the disaster, but may now extend to those involved in the response, as well as officials whose derelictions in office helped create the risk.\u201d In announcing the charges,\u00a0the Attorney General stated, \u201cAll defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in relation to the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, Michigan. Skidmore died of Legionnaires\u2019 disease after many others had been diagnosed with the illness, yet no public outbreak notice had been issued. The charges allege failure to notify and lack of action to stop the outbreak allowed the disease to continue its spread through Flint\u2019s water system.\u201d Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and\/or a $7,500 [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2017-06-28T04:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-06-28T10:56:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning","datePublished":"2017-06-28T04:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2017-06-28T10:56:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/"},"wordCount":676,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/WaterFlint2-300x169.jpg","articleSection":["Environmental Justice","Michigan","State\/Local","Water"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/06\/manslaughter-chargers-filed-state-ag-officials-flint-michigan-water-poisoning\/","name":"Manslaughter Charges Filed by State AG Against Officials for Flint, MI Water Poisoning - 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