JUDY WOODRUFF: Let's get the details now on the Flint, Michigan story, where, today, state
prosecutors filed charges against a number of high-ranking government officials.
John Yang has our report.
JOHN YANG: It's one of the worst public health failures in recent history, the contamination
of Flint, Michigan's drinking water, blamed for at least a dozen deaths and health problems
for countless others.
Today, nearly seven years after the Flint water crisis first emerged, prosecutors announced
41 criminal charges against nine former state and city officials.
Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud:
FADWA HAMMOUD, Michigan Solicitor General: We may never know all the names of those who
had their lives and livelihoods destroyed by this manmade crisis. And although the criminal
justice system alone cannot remedy all the suffering that every person endured, we took
our part seriously, and we hope others will do the same to ensure that this never ever,
ever happens again.
JOHN YANG: Among those charged:, former Governor Rick Snyder. He pleaded not guilty this morning
to two misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty. Each count carries up to a year in
prison and a $1,000 fine. His attorney called the charges wholly without merit.
Two others, including former state Health Director Nick Lyon, were each charged with
nine counts each of involuntary manslaughter, felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Both pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The indictments say they failed to protect the public health after state-appointed officials
switched the city's water supply in 2014 from Lake Huron to the Flint River in a cost-cutting
move. The more corrosive river water damaged the city's aging pipes, causing lead to leach
into the drinking water.
Ariana Hawk's son suffered from blisters and skin rashes. When we visited her home in 2019,
she told us the lingering effects included a loss of trust.
Are you angry?
ARIANA HAWK, Mother: Oh, yes. Of course I'm angry. I'm more upset and hurt than anger.
It's hurting because these are people who we trust every day. These are the people who
said that this was OK.
JOHN YANG: Tests today show Flint's water is safe to drink, but work to replace the
city's damaged pipes is still incomplete.
Flint activist Melissa Mays:
MELISSA MAYS, Flint Resident: It seems like we have been forgotten. And nobody's sitting
in jail. If I poisoned you, I would be in jail.
We're coming up on seven years of being in a prison where we can't even be safe in our
own homes. And then, of course, under COVID, we have all been locked indoors, and we're
stuck using this water.
JOHN YANG: Compounding a situation that still dominates life in this majority-Black city.
In November, the Michigan attorney general announced a $600 million fund for families
in Flint to settle civil lawsuits from the water crisis. Approval of that plan is pending
from a federal judge.
Sandra Jones is the executive director of the R.L. Jones Community Outreach Center in
Flint. It's based at the Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, where her husband
is a pastor.
Sandra, what was your reaction when you heard the news today about the criminal charges
against these former officials, including the former governor?
SANDRA JONES, Executive Director, R.L. Jones Community Outreach Center: Long time overdue.
And, this time, I hope and pray that it sticks.
JOHN YANG: Two of the people, including the former health director for the state of Michigan,
were charged with involuntary manslaughter, nine counts each.
SANDRA JONES: It is what it is.
And, I mean, so many people were actually affected. These were lives. We're not talking
about property. We're talking about human life. And so I applaud her for what it is
that she's doing. She has my support.
JOHN YANG: I have to ask you.
There are some lawyers who know more about this than I do who say that it may be tough
to get convictions in some of these cases, particularly against the former Governor Rick
Snyder, because it's been so long. It's been seven years since the -- his action or inaction
that he's charged for.
Have you thought about what it might feel like, how you might feel if the former governor
and if some of these other officials are acquitted in court? Or do you think it's enough that
they have got to stand up and face these charges in court?
SANDRA JONES: No, it isn't enough that they have to face the charges in court. That's
just not enough.
How could that be enough, when you look at, right now, today, children that are 5 and
6 years old that have cognitive skill problems, children whose parents have not been able
to potty train them at the age of 3? How is it enough when you have adults who had lesions
all over their bodies, and now they have different kinds of allergies that they have got to live
with the rest of their lives?
And we really don't know what the long-term effects that lead actually has, because, after
28 days, and you have congested it, some of us don't even actually know if it's affected
us or not.
So, no, I really don't have -- I don't feel sorry for them. I just hope that she has enough
information to be able to bring these charges and to have these charges to stick.
JOHN YANG: So, you're not going to be satisfied until they're -- you get some convictions
out of this?
SANDRA JONES: Some form of penalty needs to be made.
And I'm not talking about monetary. I think that, when you know something that will create
a physical condition in a human body, and you have the ability to do something about
that, where you put money above human life, oh, yes, you need to pay for that.
I can't tell you what the penalty should be, because I'm not proficient in that area. I
can only tell you, as a human being who has worked in the cold, in the heat, in the snow,
in the rain, in all types of weather, at 73 years old -- when I started this, I was in
my 60s, and I'm 73.
And today was our water and food distribution day. When you have residents still lined up
for over a mile-and-a-half just to get four or five cases of water, because either they
have been affected by the water or they don't trust the water, someone needs to take accountability.
Michigan has had other cities since our water crisis to have been affected one way or the
other, but their water has been affected. Guess what? Those cities have been cleaned
up, cleared up, and everybody's on their way. We're the only ones still limping.
JOHN YANG: You talk about the children, the long-term effects. Your church still giving
out water and food every week.
Can you envision a day when this is just a unpleasant incident in the history of Flint,
rather than a here-and-now problem?
SANDRA JONES: No, I cannot envision that day.
And I'm going to share with you why. Because, when these people come through the line, they
come in all kind of conditions. They start lining up at our church at 4:30 a.m. in the
morning. Until I see all of the pipes in this city changed out, until I see the residents
and our lines start getting shorter and shorter and shorter, then maybe I can look up and
feel that things are going to get better.
But I don't see it today.
JOHN YANG: Sandra Jones from the Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Flint, Michigan,
talking about the ongoing problems there.
Sandra, you thank you very much.
SANDRA JONES: And thank you very much for checking with us today and still caring about
the problems that we're facing in Flint, Michigan.
Much appreciated.