Quote:Bill Schuette, the Attorney General of the state, has announced that five people are to be charged with involuntary manslaughter including two top ranking members of the Health Department.

Outrage swelled over the poor water quality in the public supplies in Flint, Michigan between the years 2014 and 2015 after it was discovered that neglected plumping had led to a lead contamination crisis. In addition to the lead contamination, the poor water quality was also linked to an outbreak of the deadly Legionnaires disease which caused almost one hundred people to fall ill. Twelve people died as a direct result of the epidemic.

According to the Attorney General, the newly issued charges are directly associated with the Legionnaires outbreak. Schuette had announced that the health chief Nick Lyon will be charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office because he did not alert the public about the outbreak of Legionnaires disease when it first broke out.

“Mr. Lyon failed in his responsibility to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Flint, ” Schuette said, “After being informed of the growing Legionnaires outbreak in Flint, Nick Lyon failed to inform the public of this health threat. A threat that cost of the life of Robert Skidmore.” Lyon is also to be charged with obstructing university researchers who were studying the outbreak of disease. If he is convicted on these charges he could face up to fifteen years in prison.

Lyon has admitted that he failed to alert the public about the outbreak of the deadly disease for months after he became aware of it. He had claimed that he wanted to wait for the investigation sponsored by the Health and Human Services Department to conclude before he made an official announcement.

The Attorney General has also announced that four other individuals will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter as a result of the crisis. These people are the former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Early; former City of Flint Water Department Manager Howard Croft; Michigan Department of Environment Quality’s Drinking Water Chief Laine Shekter-Smith; and Water Supervisor Steven Busch.

The five officials now join Eden Wells, the medical executive chief of Michigan, who has already been charged with obstruction of justice and lying to a police officer in association with the water crisis. "Director Lyon and Dr. Wells have been and continue to be instrumental in Flint's recovery, ” the governor said in a statement, “They have my full faith and confidence, and will remain on duty at DHHS.” He also referred to Lyon as a ‘strong leader’ who ‘remains completely committed to Flint’s recovery.”

However, the governor may well be in legal trouble himself because of his involvement in the public health crisis. According to the Attorney General’s office while no charges have been leveled against the politician as of yet, the investigation is still ongoing.

Quote:Flint is never far from my mind, and today I had the opportunity to talk with JC about what his life is like. pic.twitter.com/qaw7OHVv1z
— A.G. Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) 13. Juni 2017

Quote:Michigan's health chief, Nick Lyon, has been charged w/ involuntary manslaughter for #Flint's water crisis: https://t.co/7jjAZK93Im pic.twitter.com/Tss6xPDr3G
— WBEZ (@WBEZ) 14. Juni 2017

Quote:Children have been exposed to lead. People in Flint have died as a result of decisions made by the individuals we are charging today.
— A.G. Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) 14. Juni 2017