Current:Home > FinanceProsecutors: Supreme Court decision closes door on criminal prosecutions in Flint water scandal-LoTradeCoin
Prosecutors: Supreme Court decision closes door on criminal prosecutions in Flint water scandal
View Date:2025-01-11 09:26:05
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan attorney general’s office said Tuesday that the state prosecution of former Gov. Rick Snyder and other officials for their roles in the Flint water scandal has ended.
A decision Tuesday by the state Supreme Court to decline to hear appeals of a lower court’s dismissal of misdemeanor charges against Snyder “effectively closes the door on the criminal prosecutions of the government officials,” prosecutors said in a release.
“At this time the court has left us with no option but to consider the Flint water prosecutions closed,” the prosecution team said.
The Michigan Supreme Court in September rejected a last-chance effort by prosecutors to revive criminal charges. The attorney general’s office used an uncommon tool — a one-judge grand jury — to hear evidence and return indictments against nine people, including Snyder. But the Supreme Court last year said the process was unconstitutional, and it struck down the charges as invalid.
Snyder was charged with willful neglect of duty. The indictment against him also was dismissed, though the Supreme Court did not address an appeal by prosecutors in September only because that case was on a different timetable.
The Associated Press left a text message Tuesday seeking comment from Snyder’s attorney.
Managers appointed by Snyder turned the Flint River into a source for Flint water in 2014, but the water wasn’t treated to reduce its corrosive impact on old pipes. As a result, lead contaminated the system for 18 months. Some experts have attributed a fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in 2014-15 to the water switch.
Flint was reconnected to a regional water system in 2015 and has been compliant with lead standards for seven years, regulators said.
Snyder, a Republican, acknowledged that state government botched the water switch, especially regulators who didn’t require certain treatments. But his lawyers deny his conduct rose to the level of a crime.
“Our disappointment in the Michigan Supreme Court is exceeded only by our sorrow for the people of Flint,” the prosecution team said.
The prosecution team said Tuesday that it expects next year to release “a full and thorough report” detailing its efforts and decisions.
Separately, the state agreed to pay $600 million as part of a $626 million settlement with residents and property owners who were harmed by lead-tainted water. Most of the money is going to children.
veryGood! (67824)
Related
- Kate Spade Outlet’s Early Black Friday Sale – Get a $259 Bag for $59 & More Epic Deals Starting at $25
- Georgia has 2 more players, including LB Smael Mondon, arrested for reckless driving
- This midsize Northeast city has the fastest growing rent in the nation
- Convert to a Roth IRA or not? It's an important retirement question facing Gen X.
- Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
- Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's daughter Violet urges Los Angeles officials to oppose mask bans, says she developed post-viral condition
- Olivia Munn's Newsroom Costar Sam Waterston Played This Special Role in Her Wedding to John Mulaney
- Firefighting pilot killed in small plane crash in Montana
- He failed as a service dog. But that didn't stop him from joining the police force
- What Iran's moderate new President Masoud Pezeshkian might try to change — and what he definitely won't
Ranking
- Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
- The Innovative Integration of DBW Tokens and AI: Pioneering the Leap in 'AI Financial Navigator 4.0' Investment System
- Property code enforcement a sore spot in some South Dakota towns
- Ocasio-Cortez introduces impeachment articles against Supreme Court's Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito
- See Chris Evans' Wife Alba Baptista Show Her Sweet Support at Red One Premiere
- Top 3 candidates to replace Gregg Berhalter as US coach after firing
- Gen Z is trading degrees for tool belts. Trade school benefits outweigh college costs.
- Cillian Miller: The Visionary Founder of DB Wealth Institute
Recommendation
-
Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
-
Celebs at Wimbledon 2024: See Queen Camilla, Dave Grohl, Lena Dunham and more
-
Here’s what seems to work in Miami to keep deaths down as temperatures soar
-
Lawsuit filed in case of teen who died after eating spicy chip as part of online challenge
-
More human remains from Philadelphia’s 1985 MOVE bombing have been found at a museum
-
A Turning Point in Financial Innovation: The Ascent of DB Wealth Institute
-
Gregg Berhalter fired as US men's national soccer team coach
-
ABTCOIN Trading Center: The Significance of Cryptocurrency Cross-Border Payments