Manslaughter is a crime, punishable by prison, particularly for that resultant of gross negligence. You have a guy caught using crack going to jail for a decade. Elsewhere you have a person whose actions results in the deaths of dozens and wipes out entire ecosystems, he goes to the country club for another round of golf.

This piece by Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman adds some perspective to this situation…

“Manslaughter,” reads the United States Code, “is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.” It goes on, “Whoever is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six years, or both.” In the disasters at the Massey coal mine in West Virginia and on the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, people were killed. Twenty-nine miners died in the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. Eleven workers died on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which is owned by Transocean, working under contract for BP. There are state laws that govern manslaughter as well, and special language given for maritime deaths. So why aren’t the executives of these companies behind bars?

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Russell Mokhiber is the editor of Corporate Crime Reporter and lives in West Virginia… [He] thinks Massey executives should be prosecuted for manslaughter. After protesting outside the Massey shareholders meeting Tuesday, he told me: “If I drive my car 90 mph in a 55-mph speed zone, and I accidentally kill someone, I am going to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, for behaving with reckless disregard for those around me. Prosecutors regularly bring these cases. If a corporation operates a workplace with reckless disregard for the safety of the workers, and those workers die as a result, those executives responsible should be prosecuted. That’s why we are calling on the prosecutor of Raleigh County, W.Va., to bring this charge against Massey Energy and its responsible executives.”

According to The Associated Press, federal prosecutors said they are investigating whether there was “willful criminal activity” related to the Upper Big Branch mine. BP also should face a criminal investigation. We need to pierce the corporate veil. While the civil lawsuits that will follow are likely to cost these companies some money, that is ultimately considered just the cost of doing business. When workers are killed to save time or because of unsafe working conditions, when livelihoods and the environment are destroyed, executives who make these decisions must be personally held accountable.

Read The Full Article Here