BP Will Plead Guilty to Criminal Manslaughter Charges

November 16, 2012 By

BP has agreed to plead guilty to criminal manslaughter charges stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has also agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government penalties.

A federal grand jury also returned indictments charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizon with 23 criminal counts. Specifically, they were charged with seaman’s manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter for each of the 11 men killed in the blast.

We’d like to hear from criminal defense attorneys about these charges. Please share your thoughts and comments by selecting the link below this post.

Do you think a company such as BP can and should be held accountable for manslaughter charges? Is it OK to pay a penalty to resolve a criminal cases? Should one or more managing officers of BP go to jail?

With respect to the two BP supervisors charged with 23 criminal counts. Do you think they should stand trial for manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter?

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Teachblade Reynolds
Teachblade Reynolds

Sages, the spill was bad enough; but the crime lay in the "cover-up" of the breadth of the spill to deflect accountability for damages of catastrophic proportions and wrongful death. The deflection of the scope of the spill (the cover-up) when asked by officials, was to effect damage control, that was for no one's benefit but BP Officials and their shareholders. There's been generational scorch of the earth, of livelihoods, of families and communities. The spill was negligent in such breadth that intent should be imputed; and crime was placed on the table for the lies governmental officials to cover-up. I think the singular focus of "profits" became as mammoth and unwieldy as the operation; and safety considerations were secondary to the profits. I think Criminal Manslaughter is being charitable, but BP's plea will help move the case closer to closure.

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  1. OK for BP to Plead Guilty to Criminal Manslaughter Charges … | Defensive Lawyers says:
    November 16, 2012 at 12:49 pm

    [...] Do you think a company such as BP can and should be held accountable … … Visit link: OK for BP to Plead Guilty to Criminal Manslaughter Charges … ← Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer: For Law Enforcement, F1 Weekend [...]