Former governor Rick Snyder charged over role in Flint, Michigan water poisoning
Almost seven years after the crime began, Michigan’s Flint Water Prosecution Team announced indictments Thursday of nine state officials for their roles in the poisoning of the city’s population and then covering up the dangerous condition of the water. Flint has become known around the world for the odious crime carried out against the population in which its most basic necessity—clean water—was replaced with water laced with lead, sickening residents and resulting in numerous deaths.
Most significant in the indictments is that of former governor Rick Snyder who faces two willful neglect of duty charges, misdemeanors with potential sentences of one year each and/or a $1,000 fine. The limited charges fly in the face of Flint residents who consider him chiefly responsible for the suffering they are still enduring. Snyder was governor when the switch over to Flint River water was made in 2014. His administration worked to downplay and cover up the ensuing crisis.