A | LOS ANGELES -- By the time the scuba dive boat sank off the Southern California coast after catching fire, 34 people had been killed in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.The Labor Day tragedy in 2019 spurred changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and civil lawsuits. Now four years later, a federal trial for the Conception's captain, Jerry Boylan, is set to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Los Angeles.It's been a long, frustrating wait for the families of those who perished. They say a judge's ruling that their loved ones should not be called “victims” at trial has only added to their pain. “The past four years have been like living in a nightmare that you don’t wake up from,” said Kathleen McIlvain, whose 44-year-old son Charles was killed. The 75-foot (23-meter) boat was anchored off the Channel Islands, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, on Sept. 2, 2019, when it caught fire before dawn on the last day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed Boylan for the tragedy, saying his failure to post a roving night watchman allowed the fire to quickly spread undetected, trapping the 33 passengers and one crew member below. Those on board included a new deckhand who’d landed her dream job and an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica, along with a globe-trotting couple, a Singaporean data scientist, three sisters, their father and his wife. U.S. District Judge George Wu on Oct. 12 granted Boylan's request to bar most if not all references to “victims” — which the captain's attorneys say is a prejudicial term that jeopardizes his right to a fair trial. It's the latest setback for the prosecution.A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as “seaman’s manslaughter” that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Each count carries up to 10 years in prison in a conviction, for a total of 340 years.Defense lawyers sought to dismiss those charges, arguing the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes. Prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.Then in 2022, Wu ruled the superseding indictment failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence, saying that was a required element to prove the crime of seaman’s manslaughter. He dismissed that indictment, forcing prosecutors to go before a grand jury again.Boylan is now charged with one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. The single count means he faces only 10 years behind bars if convicted.He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. His federal public defenders did not return The Associated Press' repeated requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.Some of the dead were wearing shoes, prompting investigators to believe they were awake and trying to escape. Both exits from the below-deck bunkroom were blocked by flames. Coroner’s reports list smoke inhalation as the cause of death, though official autopsies were never conducted.What exactly started the predawn fire remains unknown. Early official scrutiny appeared to focus on a spot where divers plugged in phones and other electronics. But a Los Angeles Times story, citing a confidential report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the blaze began in a plastic trash can on the main deck though an official cause remains undetermined. Boylan and four crew members sleeping in the upper deck told investigators they tried to save the others but were ultimately forced to jump overboard to survive. Boylan made a mayday call at 3:14 a.m. just before abandoning ship.Dozens of family members have since formed “Advocacy34” to push for strengthened boating regulations. While seeking answers, they’ve comforted each other during loved ones’ missed birthdays and mourned each anniversary.“We have no idea when we’ll get those answers, or if we ever will,” McIlvain said.At the time of the fire, no owner, operator or charterer had been cited or fined for failure to post a roving patrol since 1991, Coast Guard records showed.The NTSB faulted the Coast Guard for not enforcing that requirement and recommended it develop a program to ensure boats with overnight passengers actually have the watchman.The Coast Guard has since enacted new regulations regarding fire detection systems, extinguishers, escape routes and other safety measures as mandated by Congress. But it has yet to implement a comprehensive safety management system after industry advocates pushed back, citing costs.Victims' families have sued the Coast Guard in one of several ongoing civil suits.Three days after the inferno, Truth Aquatics Inc., which belongs to the Conception’s owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers show they were not at fault.The couple's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.In response to the families' outcry, federal lawmakers last year updated the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 so owners can be held liable for damages regardless of the boat’s value afterward. The law is not retroactive, however, and will not apply in the case of the Conception.。 河南省三门峡市人大常委会一级巡视员牛兰英接受纪律审查和监察调查 据河南省纪委监委消息：河南省三门峡市人大常委会一级巡视员牛兰英涉嫌严重违纪违法，目前正接受河南省纪委监委纪律审查和监察调查。 山西省大同市人大常委会原党组成员、副主任曹世平被开除党籍 据山西省纪委监委消息：日前，经山西省委批准，山西省纪委监委对大同市人大常委会原党组成员、副主任曹世平严重违纪违法问题进行了立案审查调查。 经查，曹世平丧失理想信念，背离党性原则，无视中央八项规定精神，收受礼品、礼金；违反组织原则，不按规定报告个人有关事项，违规为他人在职务调整晋升等方面谋取利益；由他人支付应由本人负担的费用；利用职务便利为他人在项目审批、企业经营等方面谋利，并非法收受巨额财物。 经山西省纪委常委会会议研究并报山西省委批准，决定给予曹世平开除党籍处分；按规定取消其享受的待遇；收缴其违纪违法所得；将其涉嫌犯罪问题移送检察机关依法审查起诉，所涉财物一并移送。 贵州省委办公厅原副主任陈丽萍被开除党籍和公职 据贵州省纪委监委消息：经贵州省委批准，贵州省纪委监委对贵州省委办公厅原副主任陈丽萍严重违纪违法问题进行了立案审查调查。 经查，陈丽萍丧失理想信念，背弃初心使命，对党不忠诚不老实，搞政治攀附，参加迷信活动；无视中央八项规定精神，违规收受礼品礼金；毫无组织原则，弃守廉洁底线，违规违纪谋取职务利益；对党纪国法毫无敬畏之心，利用职务便利为他人在项目承揽、企业经营等方面谋取利益，并非法收受巨额财物；为谋取不正当利益，送给国家工作人员财物。 经贵州省纪委常委会会议研究并报贵州省委批准，决定给予陈丽萍开除党籍处分；由省监委给予其开除公职处分；收缴其违纪违法所得；将其涉嫌犯罪问题移送检察机关依法审查起诉，所涉财物一并移送。 原大同煤矿集团有限责任公司党委常委、工会主席王宏被开除党籍 据山西省纪委监委消息：日前，经山西省委批准，山西省纪委监委对原大同煤矿集团有限责任公司党委常委、工会主席王宏严重违纪违法问题进行了立案审查调查。 经查，王宏丧失党性原则，背弃职责使命，无视中央八项规定精神，违规使用公务用车，由他人支付旅游费用；违规为他人在职务调整晋升方面谋取利益；向管理服务对象高价售车；利用职务上的便利，为他人在工程承揽等方面谋取利益，非法收受巨额财物；财产明显超过合法收入，差额巨大，且本人不能说明来源。
B | 经山西省纪委常委会会议研究并报山西省委批准，决定给予王宏开除党籍处分，按规定取消其享受的待遇；收缴其违纪违法所得；将其涉嫌犯罪问题移送检察机关依法审查起诉，所涉财物一并移送。 （透视社综合中央纪委国家监委网站、贵州省纪委监委、山西省纪委监委、河南省纪委监委报道）编辑：李煦 校对：李旭颖 审核：龚紫陌。
C |
Current article:http://www.jiubengtaibingpengou.pics/list_34rdxti/vtj.doc
Published on:19:13:22
