Genuine justice for lowlife crimes of high-end felons
A 10-year-old boy still remembers the experience vividly, even though he was just 3 when he spent almost two weeks running to the bathroom to vomit as a result of salmonella poisoning from contaminated peanut butter.
"I think it's OK for him to spend the rest of his life in prison," Jacob Hurley told federal Judge W. Louis Sands in an Albany courtroom.
The Hurley child is one of the lucky ones -- he's alive to recount his ordeal. Nine others aren't.
The "him" to whom Jacob alluded in his statement to the judge is Stewart Parnell, 61, former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, who was sentenced Monday to a historic, and eminently deserved, 28-year prison sentence for a 2008-09 salmonella outbreak at his southwest Georgia plant that sickened hundreds, killed nine and triggered one of the most massive food recalls ever. In all, Parnell was convicted of 67 counts that included conspiracy, obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
Two of Parnell's co-defendants -- his brother Michael and former quality control manager Mary Wilkerson -- were likewise sentenced, Parnell to 20 years and Wilkerson to five.
This might have been written off as a tragic accident, or even as inexcusable but perhaps not quite criminal negligence, if not for the stunning avarice, arrogance and utter disregard for public health and safety uncovered during the investigation and trial.
"These acts were driven simply by the desire to profit and to protect profits notwithstanding the known risks," Sands said in imposing what in effect is a life sentence. "This is commonly and accurately referred to as greed."
Greed is a sin. This was a lethal crime.
A federal investigation of the plant found roaches, roof leaks and evidence of rodent infestation -- all possible salmonella sources. Yet some foods processed at the plant that were never tested got shipped with phony lab records.
Investigators also followed an email trail showing that food known to contain salmonella was sent to customers anyway; that after samples tested positive and then were cleared in another test, Parnell ordered workers to "turn them loose"; and that after a final lab test conformed salmonella not long before the deadly outbreak, Parnell emailed a plant manager that the delay "is costing us huge $$$."
If ever the legal term "depraved indifference" has morally and practically, if not technically, applied to a criminal case or a set of conscious human decisions, surely it would apply here.
Whatever the significance of the stiff prison sentence (and it will, of course, be appealed), perhaps the real significance of this trial and these convictions is that people -- real human beings with names and job titles and moral responsibilities -- were held accountable for these horrific acts. Not some monolithic corporate entity "punished" in the form of a big check at the expense of shareholders no more to blame than the victims.
This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Genuine justice for lowlife crimes of high-end felons."