I must say I was surprised when reading this today, not because I had decided that these indivduals were innocent or guilty but simply, I thought with all the negative coverage Katrina did and now receives, there was no chance of an acquittal.

The owners of a nursing home where 35 patients died after Hurricane Katrina were acquitted Friday of negligent homicide and cruelty charges for not evacuating the facility as the storm approached. The jury took about four hours to acquit Sal and Mabel Mangano, the husband-and-wife owners of St. Rita’s Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish, just outside of New Orleans.

“I can’t tell you how good this feels, how good those people are,” Mabel Mangano said outside the courthouse in St. Francisville, the town about 112 northwest of New Orleans where the trial was moved. “This has been a very rough road.”

They had faced 35 counts of negligent homicide and 24 counts of cruelty to the elderly or infirm after the patients drowned _ some in their beds _ when the monster hurricane swept through the area in 2005.

Was the Governor attempting to pass the buck when she testified at this trial?

The trial lasted three weeks. The prosecution put on 40 witnesses, including Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who testified that she left the decision on mandatory evacuations to local officials. St. Bernard Parish never called a mandatory evacuation.

Obviously the jurors believed the responsibility for these deaths did not lie solely in the hands of the owners of the nursing home:

“We talked about that,” said juror Kim Maxwell, 46. “There were a lot of mistakes made, and it should have been a lot of people answering for it. So why just these two people?”

Said juror Michael Cavalier, 39: “The state was responsible for the safety of nursing home residents. They didn’t do what they should have. They didn’t make the decisions they should have. So when the Manganos made their decision, why should they try to crucify them for it? That isn’t right

Sounds as though this was a very thoughtful and insightful jury. I’m certain Mr. and Mrs. Mangano are most grateful.

Story here