PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch wants to hold people,
corporations and other bodies criminally responsible if they cause
somebody serious injury because of their criminal negligence.
Lynch said today he is introducing legislation to the General Assembly
that would punish those convicted of "criminally negligent battery" with
up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Lynch discussed his plans to pass such a law last month when he
announced the indictments of Station nightclub owners Michael A. and
Jeffrey Derderian and former Great White tour manager Dan Biechele on
200 counts of involuntary manslaughter each.
Lynch said existing state law allowed the state to charge the three in
connection with the deaths of the 100 people who died as a result of the
Feb. 20 fire at the West Warwick nightclub, but there was no way to
charge them in connection with the 200 people injured.
"The language in this legislation spells out that any person whose
criminal negligence proximately causes the serious bodily injury of
another, shall be guilty of criminally negligent battery," Lynch said in
a statement released this afternoon.
"With the support of and inspiration provided by Senator Polisena and
Representative Ginaitt, I'm confident that swift passage of this bill
will take place so that, from this point forward, the state will have a
powerful mechanism to prosecute violators of the statute."
Sen. Joseph M. Polisena, D-Johnston, the Senate's deputy majority
leader, and Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick, lead sponsors of the bill
in their legislative chambers, joined Lynch to announce the legislation
at an afternoon press conference.
Ginaitt is also a firefighter who responded to the nightclub fire. He
said, "I believe it is legislation such as this that protects all our
state’s citizens from the wanton and reckless acts of those few
individuals and public and private corporations that may place profit
ahead of public safety."
Lynch said the act uses the existing definition of "serious bodily
injury" as it applies to felony assault. It is defined as "physical
injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious
permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function
of any bodily member or organ."”
Corporate and public bodies, as well as people and partnerships could be
charged under the law, according to Lynch.
Another lawmaker has pre-filed a similar criminal negligence bill, which
would empower the attorney general to bring charges on behalf of people
injured in situations like the nightclub fire. That measure also carries
a penalty of up to 10 years and fines up to $10,000.
-- With reports from the Associated Press
