Michigan Officials Charged With Manslaughter For Role In Flint Crisis

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced last week that he has charged five public officials with involuntary manslaughter related to their alleged failure to act in the Flint water crisis. The charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

“All defendants charged with involuntary manslaughter are charged in relation to the death of Robert Skidmore, 85, of Mt. Morris, MI. Skidmore died of Legionnaires’ disease after many others had been diagnosed with the illness, yet no public outbreak notice had been issued. The charges allege failure to notify and lack of action to stop the outbreak allowed the disease to continue its spread through Flint’s water system,” according to Schuette’s office.

The five people include the former Flint emergency manager and former director of public works, NPR reported.

Eden Wells, the state's chief medical executive, “was charged with obstruction of justice and lying to a peace officer, and could face up to seven years if convicted. [The officials] are among 15 current and former state and local officials facing criminal charges as a 17-month investigation into Flint’s tainted water supply continues,” The New York Times reported.

Nick Lyon, charged this week, was director of the Michigan Health and Human Services Department. He is the top member of Governor Rick Snyder's administration to land in a criminal investigation over the Flint crisis, CBS News reported.

Lyon is accused of “failing to alert the majority-black population about an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area, which has been linked by some experts to poor water quality in 2014-15,” CBS News reported.

Robert Skidmore, an 85-year old former auto worker, died in late 2015 after an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Flint. Eleven others died under similar circumstances, The New York Times reported.

Schuette stressed the need to hold public officials accountable for the water crisis in Flint.

"The health crisis in Flint has created a trust crisis for Michigan government, exposing a serious lack of confidence in leaders who accept responsibility and solve problems," Schuette said, per CBS News.

https://www.wateronline.com/doc/michigan-officials-charged-with-manslaughter-role-flint-crisis-0001