The Wall Street Journal Reported last week, that criminal charges were being prepared against British Petroleum and/or individuals who worked for British Petroleum and who were supposedly responsible for the oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico last year after the Deep Water Horizon drilling platform caught fire. This news highlights another troubling trend in the national trend toward over criminalization; “there are no accidents.”
Traditionally, criminal liability required two elements; a criminal act and a criminal mind referred to in Latin as “MENS REA”. The criminal mind required for criminal liability traditionally and under New York law was either that you acted intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence. Specifically absent from the list was acting negligently or carelessly. Under New York law one who merely acts negligently or carelessly could be held liable for financial damages but could not be found guilty of a crime. As we over criminalize our society the traditional rule is giving way to attempts to hold someone criminally liable for every tragedy.
Recently in New York, three individuals were indicted by a grand jury, tried and acquitted of Manslaughter and related charges after a tragic fire in the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan tragically killed two firefighters. The sadness and the outcry were great as the City attempted to place blame for the tragedy. Ultimately, a site safety officer, a contractor and an an abatement foreman, all of whom worked at the site were indicted for Manslaughter under the theory that they recklessly caused the death of the two firefighters. All were ultimately found not guilty in separate verdicts.
Whatever the tragedy, our society has moved to the point where it is not enough to merely hold someone civilly responsible and force them to pay for the damage they caused. Rather someone must be indicted, tried and if convicted sent to prison. It does not really matter whether the tragedy is a crane collapse, elevator accident, collapse of a company, oil spill or fire. The issue of who is to be held criminally responsible seems to take a back seat to the outrage and the need to find anyone who can be sent to prison. In the Deutsche Bank case, the jurors who were interviewed after specifically rejected such scapegoating.
As we have discussed in our prior blog, the element of having a criminal mind has been substantially relaxed or eliminated in many newer statutes, particularly in statutes that punish “Environmental Crimes.” As a result, convictions are easier to obtain in many of these cases brought as a result of tragic accidents.
As a result of over criminalization, more and more people that never expected to become criminal defendants are getting caught in the ever expanding net of the criminal justice system. No one is immune from any socioeconomic or ethnic background. If you or a loved one has been involved in any type of tragedy, it is never too early to seek the advice of an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Certainly, one the police, prosecutors or investigators are involved one should seek legal counsel immediately. For more information, contact us on the web or at 877-377-8666.