Section 76-5-206(1) of the Utah Criminal Code states as follows
homicide constitutes negligent homicide if the actor, acting with criminal negligence, causes the death of another
.
And Robert Murray should be charged with 9 counts of criminally negligent homicide.
The deaths at the Crandall Mine were not accidents. These were deaths caused by the wilful and reckless indifference of an overly avaricious scumbag who ascribes to the theory that he can do whatever the hell he wants and nobody, not even the government of the laws society has passed, can say otherwise.
The Crandall Mine routinely created unsafe conditions which made the likelihood of death possible if not probable. Murray knew this and ignored these precautions.
We are talking about a person whose Illinois mine had 2,787 violations since 2005. That means he's broken the law 2,787 times in a 3 year span. And he's still a free man.
Murray is pure evil.
In 2003, four mine officials and KenAmerican Resources Inc., another Murray subsidiary, were convicted of 10 counts of illegally using improper ventilation, using two continuous mining machines and lying to federal investigators about the practice.
And Murray does not care about miner safety.
All the while, Murray's companies have resisted increases in civil penalties for mine violations, opposed safety measures proposed after the Sago mine disaster and have sued the governor of Pennsylvania for ordering a mine there to close.
We can talk all we want about better enforcement, unions, stronger regulations, prayers for the families, etc... (And we should) but sometimes the only way to stop a conservative is to let them know that if you act up, your ass is going to jail and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you want to stop other mining deaths, the best way to do it is to put Robert Murray in a prison cell and make an example of him. Watch how quickly other mine owners across the country suddenly become interested in mine safety.