Kary Moss, executive director of Michigan's ACLU chapter. (Photo by Al
Kary Moss, executive director of Michigan's ACLU chapter.
The Michigan American Civil Liberties Union, which has been highly critical of the state's emergency manager system, applauds Tuesday's move by state Attorney General Bill Schuette to charge former Flint emergency managers Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose in the city's water scandal.
“Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose may be the ones facing charges, but it is really Michigan’s misguided emergency manager law that has been indicted here," says ACLU of Michigan Executive Director Kary Moss in a statement.
"There is no question that this antidemocratic law—which granted sweeping power to unelected appointees accountable only to the governor—is the real culprit in the Flint Water Crisis," Moss said. "With almost unlimited power over Flint, these appointees were able to expose an entire city to lead-poisoned water for two years while turning a deaf ear to residents’ constant cries their water supply posed a health hazard. We welcome the recent actions by the Attorney General, but we urge the state to reform this law so that nothing like this can ever happen again.”
Earley and Ambrose are charged with: False pretenses for allegedly participating in a process that allowed the use of bonds to fund the KWA pipeline despite the city's debt problem. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit false pretenses, misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty in office.
Two former workers for the city of Flint were also criminally charged on Tuesday.
Schuette, at a press conference in Flint on Tuesday, criticized the emergency managers for placing finances over people.
"This fixation has cost lives,” he said, according to The Detroit News. “This fixation came at the expense of protecting the health and safety of Flint. ... It’s all about numbers over people.”
