The proposed law comes in response to The Station fire in which the state had no way to pursue charges on behalf of the 200 burn victims.

09:01 AM EST on Thursday, January 15, 2004

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- A lawmaker-firefighter, who was one of the first responders to The Station fire, yesterday urged passage of a bill that would allow Rhode Island to press felony charges when someone is seriously injured because of negligence.

Rep. Norman L. Landroche Jr., a West Warwick firefighter, made his case to fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee, urging them to vote on his bill within the next week or two.

Landroche, D-West Warwick, said "an apparent gap" in state law became clear after the Feb. 20 nightclub fire, which killed 100 and injured more than 200 others. While a grand jury indicted three people on involuntary manslaughter charges for the 100 deaths, the state had no way to pursue charges on behalf of the injured.

"This bill fills that gap," Landroche said.

Under the legislation, when someone is seriously injured as a direct result of criminal negligence, the negligent person is guilty of assault or battery and can be sent to prison for up to 10 years and/or fined up to $10,000.

Landroche emphasized that the bill is not targeting "ordinary negligence" such as a case in which someone slips on an orange and hits their head. Rather, he said, the bill takes aim at "criminal negligence," such as a case in which fireworks are stored in a tenement house and explode, seriously injuring people.

Rep. Nicholas Gorham, R-Coventry, said he will probably support the bill, but he said he had thought Landroche's proposal was going to answer the question of why no public officials were charged in The Station fire.

The grand jury indicted the club owners and the Great White tour manager, but many survivors and relatives of victims have questioned why town and state inspectors have not been charged. The rock band's Feb. 20 concert began with a burst of pyrotechnics, which ignited flammable soundproofing foam around the stage. The club was inspected several times after the foam was installed but inspectors never cited it as a safety violation.

Journal photo / Connie Grosch HEARING IN SESSION: Rep. Norman L. Landroche Jr., right, urges passage of his bill relating to The Station fire during a hearing of the house Judiciary Committee yesterday. At left is Rep. Timothy Williamson, D-West Warwick.

"I thought we were going to get answers today about why public officials were not charged," said Gorham, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "But it seemed to just raise more questions. I think the public still has questions of why public officials weren't charged under existing law."

Yesterday's hearing came six days after Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch unveiled a similar bill, sponsored by another lawmaker-firefighter who responded to The Station fire, Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick.

Lynch called Landroche's bill well intended but "not the answer," saying, "It's not the proper wording that will assist this office and, more importantly, judges and juries."

Larry Berman, spokesman for House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, yesterday said the House leadership supports Landroche's bill and has not yet reviewed Ginaitt's bill.

Landroche said he had not jumped the gun in introducing the bill. "This issue sits with me in my role in the town of West Warwick," he said, noting that he also introduced fire-code changes seven days after the blaze. "I'm trying to enact legislation for the betterment of everyone in response to what happened."

"I stand by this bill," Landroche said, noting that yesterday he introduced an amendment defining criminal negligence with words plucked directly from a 2003 Rhode Island Supreme Court case, State v. Pedro Ortiz.

In its original form, the bill had blended the Supreme Court language with language from similar laws in other states. The amended bill defines criminal negligence as: "conduct which is such a departure from what would be that of an ordinary prudent or careful man or woman in the same circumstance as to be incompatible with a proper regard for human life or an indifference to consequences. Criminal negligence is negligence that is aggravated, culpable or gross."

Landroche said, "You need a strong definition because you want a statute that is concrete so you can charge on that basis, so there's no vagueness."

Lynch's legislative director, Cynthia Stern, addressed the committee, saying, "The attorney general's office would like to work with Representative Landroche on the bill and come to a mutual decision." Landroche said he plans to meet with the attorney general's office before the committee votes.

DIGITAL EXTRA: Read the full text of Landroche's proposed criminal negligence bill, review other legislation filed in the wake of The Station fire and more at:

http://projo.com/extra/2003/stationfire/