Tougher manslaughter penalties sought for corporations

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Lawmakers want to increase the fine for corporations convicted of manslaughter from $1,000 to up to $1 million as part of an overhaul of an antiquated law sparked by the 2006 fatal ceiling collapse in the Big Dig.

The current fine of $1,000 dates to 1819 and came under heavy criticism when it become clear that was the maximum penalty a Big Dig contractor could face after a grand jury indicted the company for involuntary manslaughter for allegedly supplying faulty glue.

"It seemed woefully inadequate given the scope of that case," Attorney General Martha Coakley said today and a press conference with legislators. "I think most people would agree that things have changed since 1819, both the economy and the dollar value of what that fine is."

Coakley spoke in support of a bill that would increase the fine to $250,000, a figure she described as a placeholder meant to serve as a starting point for discussions in the Legislature. Other proposals would increase the fine to as much as $1 million.

"Corporations do not go to jail, but they do respond to monetary fines," Coakely said.

Lawmakers have been trying to overhaul the manslaughter statute since New York-based Powers Fasteners Inc. was charged with involuntary manslaughter in August 2007 in the case of a Jamaica Plain woman killed in a partial ceiling collapse in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel.

"I think most of us were very surprised by the amount of the fine we were able to impose on people found guilty of manslaughter," state Senator Joan Menard, a Democrat from Fall River, said at today's press conference.

Investigators accused the epoxy supplier of failing to warn construction contractors about the dangers of using one version of its glue to secure ceiling bolts. Coakley later dropped the manslaughter charge when Power Fasteners agreed to pay $16 million to the state and city.

Another high-profile corporate manslaughter case in Massachusetts involved a national nursing home company that was charged in July 2007 after the death of 74-year-old Julia McCauley at a facility in Acton. Allegations are still pending against Life Care Centers of America, which has pleaded not guilty to charges that also include abuse and neglect and making a false Medicaid claim.

In December, prosecutors in Hampden County charged the Westfield Sportsman's Club with involuntary manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of an 8-year-old boy who was firing a Micro Uzi at a gun show. Christopher Bizilj died Oct. 26.

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