I have just read Chapter 8Environmental Crimes (Noble) and watched the Frontline documentary, "The Spill." I am looking at corporate criminal liability. This time I am looking at environmental crimes, and many of those violations fall under the umbrella of white-collar crime when corporate entities are the ones who commit them.

How was BP held responsible for the spill and explosion at the Deep Water Horizon? How does that differ from the sanctions imposed in the Explo case? What might explain the difference in how these cases were resolved? In your opinion, are these appropriate sanctions? Explainwhyyou hold this opinion.

Would corporate leaders be more likely to follow the law if someone had been sentenced to prison for the spill? Why or why not?Do you think the law should be changed to make it easier to hold executives personally accountable or is the law sufficient now? Explain why you hold this opinion.

Reference:

Jennifer C. Noble,White-Collar and Financial Crimes: A Casebook of Fraudsters, Scam Artists, and Corporate Thieves(University of California Press, 2021) (ISBN 9780520302891)

Frontline Documentary "The Spill " https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-spill/ or YouTube: https://youtu.be/NzrGZCJojUELinks to an external site.