airINDIA
8th April 2008, 05:03 AM
Manslaughter ruling in Diana's death
Verdict of reckless action by coroner's jury is akin to manslaughter
The Associated Press
updated 5:40 p.m. ET, Mon., April. 7, 2008
LONDON — A coroner's jury returned the most serious verdict within its power Monday, ruling that Princess Diana and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed because their driver and pursuing paparazzi were reckless — behavior tantamount to manslaughter.
Criminal charges were unlikely, however, because the incident happened in France outside the jurisdiction of British authorities.
Rejecting claims by the father of Diana's boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, that the couple were murdered, the jury concluded after six months of testimony they were victims of reckless speed by their drinking chauffeur and the pack of photographers chasing after them in Paris in 1997.
"The verdict is unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes" carrying the couple, the jury foreman announced.
That was the verdict of nine of the 11 jurors. There was no indication why there were two dissenters.
All 11 agreed that the car slamming head-on into a concrete pillar rather than striking the wall on the other side was a key factor in their deaths. The jury also faulted Diana and Fayed for not buckling their seat belts.
But jurors laid the heaviest blame on the couple's driver, Henri Paul, who had been drinking shortly before the high-speed crash that killed all three in a Paris underpass on Aug. 31, 1997, and on the paparazzi following them.
Here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23996067?GT1=42001) is the rest of the story
Verdict of reckless action by coroner's jury is akin to manslaughter
The Associated Press
updated 5:40 p.m. ET, Mon., April. 7, 2008
LONDON — A coroner's jury returned the most serious verdict within its power Monday, ruling that Princess Diana and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed because their driver and pursuing paparazzi were reckless — behavior tantamount to manslaughter.
Criminal charges were unlikely, however, because the incident happened in France outside the jurisdiction of British authorities.
Rejecting claims by the father of Diana's boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, that the couple were murdered, the jury concluded after six months of testimony they were victims of reckless speed by their drinking chauffeur and the pack of photographers chasing after them in Paris in 1997.
"The verdict is unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes" carrying the couple, the jury foreman announced.
That was the verdict of nine of the 11 jurors. There was no indication why there were two dissenters.
All 11 agreed that the car slamming head-on into a concrete pillar rather than striking the wall on the other side was a key factor in their deaths. The jury also faulted Diana and Fayed for not buckling their seat belts.
But jurors laid the heaviest blame on the couple's driver, Henri Paul, who had been drinking shortly before the high-speed crash that killed all three in a Paris underpass on Aug. 31, 1997, and on the paparazzi following them.
Here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23996067?GT1=42001) is the rest of the story