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Saturday, December 10, 2005
Maybe it doesn't make sense to take up valuable prison space with McWane officials who broke environmental laws. But the sentences that were handed down in the case don't entirely make sense either.
The company and three of its employees were found guilty of environmental crimes after McWane's cast iron plant in north Birmingham dumped polluted water into Avondale Creek.
Like too many white-collar criminals who appear in Birmingham federal courts, the McWane defendants avoided jail and received more lenient sentences than the law allowed. James Delk, a former vice president and general manager, could have faced up to 27 months in prison. Instead, he got six months of home detention, three years of probation and a $90,000 fine.
Former plant manager Michael Devine could have gotten up to 24 months in prison; instead, he got three months of home detention, two years of probation and a $35,000 fine. Charles "Barry" Robison, the company's former vice president of environmental affairs, could have been sentenced to up to six months in prison, but instead got two years of probation, 150 hours of community service and a $2,500 fine.
The company itself, which could have been fined $20 million, will pay a $5 million fine, complete a $2.7 million environmental project and serve five years of probation.
Unfortunately, the light sentences senior U.S. District Judge Robert Propst handed down are indicative of what too often happens in federal courts in Birmingham. The district here has a history of being harsher than most on drug defendants - and more lenient than most on white-collar defendants.
The perception is that our courts go easy on well-heeled defendants and those who commit crimes with pens rather than guns. Propst said the defendants had been punished enough, had good character and didn't need any deterrence. But what of others who might be tempted or ordered to pollute our environment as part of their jobs?
Mind you, this wasn't a one-time offense. Delk was found guilty of 18 counts of polluting the creek between 1999 and 2001. Nor was it an accident. In addition to breaking the law, McWane officials engaged in a deliberate cover-up, environmental regulators said.
Even if the maximum sentence was not appropriate, the punishment should have reflected the seriousness of these crimes.
