Prosecutors drop criminal charges in Flint Water scandal



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According to a press release issued by the Michigan Ministry of the Attorney General, prosecutors said they were deeply concerned about the investigative approach and legal theories adopted by the former office. Special Council (OSC) who oversaw the investigation. Attorney General Bill Schuette has appointed the OSC.

The OSC has entered into agreements whereby private defense firms representing the accused have a role to play in the selection of information that would be passed on to law enforcement, the statement said.

"We can not provide Flint's citizens with the investigation they rightly deserve by continuing to build on an imperfect foundation," said Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Attorney, Kym L. Worthy, who currently heads criminal cases.

Prosecutors noted in the press release that "voluntary termination is not a determination of the criminal responsibility of an accused". Prosecutors are not precluded from re-laying charges against the accused in the future.

A community conversation in Flint is scheduled for June 28th. Hammoud and Worthy will speak directly to the people of Flint.

Residents feel blinded

Melissa Mays, 40, resident of Flint and founder of the local Water You Fighting For advocacy group, told CNN that she had first learned of the dismissal at a call from a New York reporter. Times.

"I was horrified, I felt blinded," she said. "The way we saw the message delivered today is hurtful – it was a relapse."

Mays said his family was currently saving for a water filtration system. "We are constantly worried that this will never be solved, it is not fair, we have not asked to be poisoned," she said.

Karen Weaver, Mayor of Flint City, said the dismissal gave her hope of restoring justice.

"I'm glad to see that this case is treated with the seriousness and stubborn determination with which it should have been treated from the beginning," said Weaver in a statement to CNN.

Weaver described the erroneous handling of the legal evidence of the former prosecution team as "a flagrant lack of respect for human life and the common decency of an entire administration, which is another attempt to conceal what is wrong." Should have never happened. "

But many people are frustrated. Monica Galloway, a member of Flint's City Council, told CNN that she was "dismayed".

"The main impact on our children has not even been realized, which means that there are many unknowns for their future.They have not been fully corrected," he said. declared Galloway.

"This leads me to believe that Governor Snyder has just received a free prison card, and the people responsible will go free," she said.

Fortina Harris, 67, a longtime Flint resident, has always said she has to buy bottled water. "We have been hunted down, misused, abused and we still have to pay water bills and wash our bodies," he said. "We do not get any extra, no discounts or anything for the purchase of water, we have to fend for ourselves."

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