No criminal charges in California balcony collapse that killed Irish students

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the deadly collapse of an apartment balcony in Berkeley, California, last year in which five visiting Irish students and an American friend were killed, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

An investigation showed dry rot caused the balcony to give way during a birthday party in June, and the building's maintenance and construction crews "likely" bore some responsibility, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said.

But O'Malley said there was not enough evidence to prove reckless disregard for human life that would be needed for a charge of criminal manslaughter.

"This is not a decision that I came to lightly,” O'Malley said in a statement.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-collapse-berkeley-idUSKCN0WV28D

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World | Tue Mar 29, 2016 4:08pm EDT

[angstlessk]

1. So "shit happens" is his response to dead kids!

[pnwmom]

2. No, but the proper response isn't criminal charges, it's a civil lawsuit.

Civil lawsuits require a much lower burden of proof and are more likely to result in a verdict in favor of the families.

[angstlessk]

3. But against whom? The janitors?

[Travis_0004]

4. Thw landlord

[angstlessk]

5. That is what I was hoping for

Thanks

[pnwmom]

6. Of course not. From the article in the OP:

Civil lawsuits were filed last year on behalf of seven survivors and the families of five students who died, including against the building’s owner, a BlackRock Inc-managed real estate fund.