Toyota to Pay $1.2B for Hiding Deadly ‘Unintended Acceleration’

[magical thyme]

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=22972214

Car manufacturer Toyota has agreed to pay a staggering $1.2 billion to avoid prosecution for covering up severe safety problems with “unintended acceleration,” according to court documents, and continuing to make cars with parts the FBI said Toyota “knew were deadly.”

A deferred prosecution agreement, filed today, forced Toyota to “admit” that it “misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements about two safety related issues affecting its vehicles, each of which caused a type of unintended acceleration.”

Toyota “put sales over safety and profit over principle,” according to FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos.


Damn those pesky regulators.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. Thats only for real crimes, like smoking pot- or managing your quadraplegia pain

Silly!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maia-szalavitz/cruel-and-disgusting-pain_b_43216.html

Florida's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Richard Paey, a wheelchair-using father of three who is currently serving a 25-year mandatory prison sentence for taking his own pain medication.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. No, he's quadraplegic and he was sentenced to 25 years for taking his own pain pills.

He was later pardoned by the Governor, humanely, after exhausting all his appeals. But it's a classic example of drug war zealotry- yes, lets put a wheelchair bound guy in prison because we've decided he's taking too many pain meds.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Paey

Richard Paey is a Florida man who was incarcerated in 2004 for drug trafficking. There was no evidence he ever distributed or intended to sell any pills, but drug laws in many states, including Florida, allow officials to prosecute for trafficking based solely on the quantity an individual possesses. Paey spent three and a half years in prison, until he was granted a full pardon by Florida Governor Charlie Crist in September 2007.

[Catherina]

5. Good but not staggering enough. This needs jail time, a much higher *fine* and probation

$1.2B is nothing to these people. That's why corporations put profit over human lives over and over again.