News Update: A Sticky Situation: Forensic Decisioning?

Zillion Dollar Thinking Post Dated 5-27-10
Now: BP execs could face manslaughter charges
By Brett Michael Dykes

In the first days of the BP oil disaster last year, one of the big questions of accountability (decisioning) was, "Could oil execs face criminal prosecution for the spill?"

Today Bloomberg is reporting that, according to three unnamed people "familiar with the matter," the Justice Department is considering whether it should charge certain BP executives with manslaughter for their roles in the lives lost to last summer's Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Reports Bloomberg:

Authorities are examining actions (decisions) by BP managers who worked both on the rig and onshore to determine whether they should be charged in connection with the workers' deaths, according to the people. Prosecutors have been looking at charges of involuntary manslaughter or seaman's manslaughter, which carries a more serious penalty of up to 10 years. The manslaughter investigation is focusing on decisions by BP managers leading up to the explosion that may have sacrificed safety in favor of speed and cost savings, one of the people said.

The report goes on to note that "investigators are scrutinizing e-mails and other documents to determine what BP officials and the company's drilling partners knew when they testified before Congress in June and whether they withheld information." Still, it's the opinion of many familiar with the case that gaining convictions against individuals could be extremely difficult.

But as we noted last year, David Uhlmann, who headed the Justice Department's environmental crimes unit under Clinton and Bush, said that he'd "be shocked if there were no criminal charges filed in this case. There are so many things that went wrong out there." Uhlmann said at the time that criminal proceedings would hinge on proof that the companies involved had willfully engaged in negligence of safety measures and knowingly violated drilling regulations.

ZDT Author’s Note: Decisions have consequences. Stay tuned.

Full Article and credits:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/bp-execs-could-face-manslaughter-charges;_ylt=AssvpnmKdEHw2c49lnp1obdH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4N29sOGN1BGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZWxvb2tvdXQvMjAxMTAzMjkvYnAtZXhlY3MtY291bGQtZmFjZS1tYW5zbGF1Z2h0ZXItY2hhcmdlcwRjY29kZQNyYW5kb20EY3BvcwMxMARwb3MDMTAEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNicGV4ZWNzY291bGQ-