Nightclub owners get probation in contempt case over stampede that killed 21
After a 12-year legal saga, an Illinois judge on Friday imposed probation sentences on two owners of a Chicago nightclub at which 21 people died in a 2003 stampede.
Calvin Hollins Jr. and Dwain Kyles were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter. But they were found guilty of contempt for violating a court order prior to the tragedy which would have closed the E2 club due to building code violations. Hollins and Kyles will also be required to perform 500 hours of community service, reports the Chicago Tribune (sub. req.).
The pair had earlier been sentenced to two-year prison terms in the Cook County case, but the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, vacated their convictions in 2011. It called the court order requiring the club to be closed ambiguous, and also found that the two owners were not responsible for conduct by club security that sent patrons rushing down a stairway toward a door that soon became blocked.
In 2013, however, the Illinois Supreme Court reinstated the convictions (PDF).
On remand, the appellate court vacated the prison sentences, finding that the trial court had attributed too much blame to the defendants because the stampede was not a foreseeable result of violating the court order closing the club. “The release of pepper spray to break up a fight was completely unrelated to respondents’ violation of the building court’s order,” it said in its written opinion. “It was a supervening act that relieved them of legal responsibility.”
Findlaw provides a copy of the opinion.
Related coverage:
Rockford Register Star: “Sentences tossed in 2003 Chicago nightclub stampede”
Chicago Tribune (sub. req.): “Supreme Court upholds E2 conviction”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Chicago Not Liable in 21 Nightclub Deaths; No ‘Willful and Wanton’ Conduct”
