Weekly civic intelligence report ยท v2.2
The Department of Justice is considering dropping criminal charges against Boeing related to the 737 Max crashes that killed hundreds, despite family opposition. This represents potential corporate accountability erosion.
High constitutional damage driven by rule of law erosion (4.5) - DOJ dropping criminal prosecution of major corporate defendant after fatal incidents signals two-tier justice system. Strong regulatory capture signal (4.2) - Boeing's ability to avoid accountability despite 346 deaths across two crashes indicates corporate influence over enforcement. Corruption driver (3.8) reflects institutional failure to hold powerful actors accountable. Enforcement_action mechanism provides 1.3 multiplier as this directly weakens prosecutorial independence and equal application of law. Severity multipliers elevated: durability 1.2 (sets precedent for corporate immunity), reversibility 1.1 (difficult to re-prosecute), precedent 1.2 (signals to other corporations that fatal negligence may be consequence-free). Federal scope, narrow population (corporate executives/victims' families). B-score moderate at 20.2 - high outrage potential (8) given deaths involved, strong media friendliness (7), but limited meme-ability (3). Layer 2 shows mismatch between severity and accountability (6), pattern-match to corporate impunity narratives (5). Low intentionality (4) - appears genuine policy consideration rather than strategic distraction. Delta of +21.4 clearly places on List A.
Monitor for: (1) actual DOJ decision and stated rationale, (2) any quid-pro-quo indicators (Boeing contracts, revolving door movements, campaign contributions), (3) comparative treatment of similar corporate criminal cases, (4) Congressional oversight response, (5) whether families' legal standing is preserved for civil action. This represents core rule-of-law degradation requiring documentation of precedent-setting implications for corporate criminal accountability.