PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A jury has found that a roofing contractor in Maine is not responsible of office manslaughter for the 2018 death of a worker.
The Portland Push Herald reviews that the jury attained its verdict Thursday at the Cumberland County Courthouse. Shawn Purvis, operator of Purvis Dwelling Improvement Co. in Scarborough, Maine, faced a single count of office manslaughter, a Class C felony that carries a optimum sentence of five decades in prison. The decide dismissed a second rely of manslaughter, a extra severe charge, on the last working day of the trial, which commenced Dec. 1.
A single of Purvis’ personnel, Alan Loignon, 30, fell to his demise from a Portland residence in December 2018 although climbing down a ladder onto scaffolding without having security equipment. That led to a office manslaughter cost remaining filed in 2019.
Purvis faces extra than $2 million in fines imposed by the federal Occupational Safety and Well being Administration. Prosecutors alleged that Purvis for decades knowingly violated OSHA protection specifications.
Purvis claimed the verdict that he felt vindicated and criticized prosecutors who experienced indicted him on the extra major manslaughter charge. He claimed his personnel are subcontractors who can decide on regardless of whether to comply with safety specifications with gear he presents.