After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in which BP killed 12 people, millions of marine and land animals, and one ecosystem, two scapegoats were located to fit up for criminal manslaughter charges: the supervisors aboard the platform at the time of its explosion.
After years of courtroom wrangling, prosecutors dropped criminal charges against these Lynndie Englands, charging them instead with misdemeanors and taking parole and community service for their role in one of the human race's worst environmental disasters.
BP has to pay billions in settlements, of course, but no human will be held accountable for the decisions that led to the disaster.
The father of Gordon Jones, a rig worker who died in the explosion, was unhappy with the government's decision.
"As a result of this court proceeding today, no man will ever spend a moment behind bars for killing 11 men for reasons based entirely on greed," Keith Jones told reporters after Wednesday's hearing.
The Justice Department said in a statement that it dropped the felony charges against the two "because circumstances surrounding the case have changed since it was originally charged, and after a careful review the department determined it can no longer meet the legal standard for instituting the involuntary manslaughter charges."
Manslaughter charges dropped in BP spill case—nobody from BP will go to prison
[David Kravets/Ars Technica]
