Fifth Circuit Reverses Criminal Conviction of Citgo in Corpus Christi Pollution Case
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court dealt Corpus Christi residents a harsh blow, overturning the criminal conviction of Citgo Petroleum Corp. for violations of the Clean Air Act. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in a legal drama that has dragged on for more than a decade.
The Citgo conviction in 2007 marked the first time a major oil company was found guilty of criminal air pollution by a jury. It was also the first time that victims of air pollution were recognized under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. Prosecutors established that two mammoth oil-water separator tanks lacked emission controls and were exposing residents of Hillcrest, a neighborhood adjacent to the Citgo refinery, to dangerous levels of benzene, a known carcinogen.
Last summer, the federal judge in the case, after seven years of delay, finally reached a sentence, fining the multibillion oil giant a mere $2 million. The judge also denied restitution to the victims, including reimbursements for medicals costs or moving away from the refinery. The decision by the Fifth Circuit panel removes even a symbolic victory.
“The most disappointing thing is we fought so hard to get the victims victim status, and this just wipes that away,” said Melissa Jarrell, a criminal justice professor at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “{The panel decided that} not only are they not victims, but Citgo did not commit a crime and that to me is just impossible given the evidence.”
Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/fifth-circuit-overturns-citgos-clean-air-act-conviction/
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