A Houston Grand Jury has decided there will be no criminal charges over the Astroworld 2021 tragedy. They acquitted Travis Scott and several festival planners of criminal responsibility for the deadly festival. The rapper’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, stated that the verdict confirmed that Scott was not responsible for the tragedy.
Several executives and promoters have also been cleared of charges. However, there is still civil litigation to determine any civil liability on the organizers of Astroworld.
Read on to learn more.
Travis Scott Will Not Face Criminal Charges
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A Houston grand jury has ruled that there will be no criminal charges for the Astroworld 2022 disaster. according to Billboard, oOn June 29, a grand jury acquitted rapper Travis Scott and festival organizers of criminal charges for the lives lost that day.
After nearly 19 months of police investigation, the jury stated that the attorney did not provide enough evidence to support the criminal charges. During the 2021 festival, there was a crowd stampede at the now famous concert that left ten people dead and hundreds injured.
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Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney, announced the jury’s verdict at a news conference. He said police had found and released “every piece of relevant evidence,” interviewed all relevant witnesses, and viewed “thousands and thousands of hours” of video from the festival.
Ogg added, “Our task is narrow. It is to determine whether this tragedy, this truly terrible and horrific event, involved criminal activity by anyone. In this case, the grand jury found that no crime occurred – that no individual was criminally responsible.”
‘Travis Scott Is Not Responsible for the Astroworld Tragedy’
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Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, released a statement to Billboard after the jury’s decision became public news. He said that the verdict “confirms what we’ve known all along – that Travis Scott is not responsible for the Astroworld tragedy.”
Schaffer noted that the decision is in line with “numerous media reports and federal and state government reports that have placed responsibility for event security crises on organizers, operators and contractors – not performers.”
He added, “While patiently awaiting the District Attorney’s decision not to file charges, Travis Scott was inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite having stopped the show three separate times and was unaware of the events as they occurred.” Schaffer concluded by saying the focus should now be on making sure tragedies like Astroworld don’t happen again.
Senior Astroworld Promoter Cleared Of Criminal Charges
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According to Ogg’s statement, the grand jury also cleared other senior Astroworld figures of criminal responsibility. This includes independent operations manager Brent Silberstein, Live Nation security executive John Junell, Shawna Boardman and Seyth Boardman, who represents crowd management company Contemporary Services Corporation.
There was also Emily Ockenden, an executive from operating company BWG, who was the emergency contact for the festival. The indictment settled by a grand jury is a major victory for Scott and these officers, but they still have to face a civil liability trial for the damages caused by the tragedy.
There Are Still Over 400 Civil Lawsuits By Alleged Astroworld Victims
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There are more than 400 lawsuits filed by thousands of alleged victims against Scott and the festival’s organizers. The suit alleges the rapper and promoter were negligent in the planning and execution of their event. These cases have now been combined into a massive class action, seeking billions of dollars in damages.
Civil proceedings are now at the discovery stage, which is a lengthy court process. At this stage, both sides present their evidence for the opposing side and take evidence from witnesses and key figures. There will eventually be several trials for the case, but this type of civil litigation often leads to large financial settlements.
During the press conference, Ogg spoke about civil suits and said they are completely different from criminal investigations and grand jury verdicts. He said, “What will happen in the courts where they practice civil law, is not for us to decide.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
