Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/23/modest-15m-fine-for-norfolk-southern-after-fiery-ohio-derailment-and-no-criminal-charges.html
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EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the fine is the largest allowed under the Clean Water Act
Why would there be any maximum allowable fine for destroying the environment?
And why are there never criminal charges?
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Criminal charges require proving a certain person did wrong. This was a system problem, the people involved had no ability to prevent the accident.
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how do you figure?
they could have run trains with few numbers of cars. they could have had more engineers on the train, who were more rested and less stressed from inhumane schedules. they could have done more track and train maintenance. and i’m certain these are only a few of the things
so far as i know, the new system they setup for longer trains and fewer, more schedule crunched engineers was directly implicated in the incident ( not accident )
their profits have increased for a reason after all
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That’s just a natural consequence of being a person.
And you can be charged with a crime for your part in it - even if others were also responsible.
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Corporations can also be charged with crimes. It’s rare, but it can be done. And you don’t have to “prove” anything to charge someone or a corporation with a crime. You just have to, usually, convince a grand jury there’s enough evidence of a crime to warrant prosecution. “Proving” the crime happens at trial.
What crimes could you charge a corporation with? The same ones you could charge a person with. The problem you’re going to run into with corporations is proving intent. I’m sure the company here didn’t purposefully wreck the train to harm the environment, so you’re looking at crimes where the level of intent is recklessness or negligence.
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This corporation is hearby charged with 1,138,741 counts of not giving a shit.
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Oh man, if not giving a shit were a crime, our prison population would explode.
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Yeah - boatloads of narcissistic executives!
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Well, to be fair, there are a great many things about which I do not give a shit, so I think that particular law would have to be a bit more specific.
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Like @danimagoo says a corporation is a “legal person” and as such can be charged and convicted of a crime. The Trump Organization is one such recent example.
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It would only apply to corporations. 
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