1997 Nov 29 - Dec 16 : NewSfile #10
All six cleared in Senna trial
1997 December 16
Judge Antonio Costanzo today cleared all six defendants of
manslaughter charges arising from the death of Ayrton Senna.
The defendants' legal teams were delighted, smiling and punching
the air in celebration.
This announcement indicates the judge had ignored the recommendations
made by the state prosecutor, Maurizio Passarini, who earlier
last month had asked for one year suspended sentences to be awarded
to both Patrick Head and Adrian Newey.
The reason for the judge's decision will be published in 90
days.
None of the defendants were present in the courtroom today,
Italian law does not require them to attend the hearing.
Peter Goodman, a lawyer for the Williams team, said:
"We had a good hearing, all the facts came out and I'm
sure the right verdict was reached."
Speaking to reporters, Roland Bruynseraede's lawyer, Roberto
Causo, said:
"By this verdict the judge has recognised that Formula
One is an extremely dangerous sport."
Giovanni Carcaterra, representative for the Senna family,
said:
"The Senna family only wanted to discover what actually
happened, they were not interested in sentences."
Passarini said that he looked forward to reading the judge's
report saying:
"I need to see whether the judge ruled that the incident
was due to the breaking of Senna's steering column although there
was no criminal responsibility, or if he felt that the column
did not break. In that case I would be even more disappointed."
The state prosecutor could launch an appeal against Costanzo's
decision although this action is thought to be unlikely.
A verdict of guilty would have started a backlash from
those involved in the F1 world. Threats of some teams boycotting
F1 racing in Italy were made prior to the commencement of the
trial.
The FIA issued a statement saying:
"The FIA have noted today's decision of the Imola court,
but will not comment until it has examined the full text of the
decision and studied its implications."
Williams GP is pleased ...
"Williams Grand Prix Engineering is pleased to confirm
that Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adrian Newey have been
acquitted of all charges which were the subject of the Imola
trial.
"Our legal advisors inform us that the prosecution has
an automatic right of appeal. Clearly we would hope that this
matter will not be pursued any further."
Ferrari team manager, Jean Todt said:
"I haven't commented during the trial because I felt
I should wait until the verdict, it has been rather laborious
and lengthy, and is therefore a judgment of conscience which
has to be accepted and also respected."
"It is not easy to give an opinion on a motor race when
you know of the dangers and risks involved.
"My comments are positive because the fact is there has
been a very careful examination of all the events, and because
of the outcome of the trial."
Damon Hill believes the judge's decision will help Formula
One's image after the recent controversies.
"I know this trial has been hanging over Williams and
this vindication expresses a feeling about their utter integrity,
both of the team and the standard of its engineering. I never
had any doubts about them."
Ken Tyrell also expressed his pleasure over today's decision
saying:
"I, like other team bosses am delighted that they brought
in the correct verdict. The idea that Williams, the most successful
team with probably the best engineered car in Formula One, would
have made a mistake was unthinkable.
"I would have been apprehensive racing in Italy if this
decision had found them guilty of manslaughter. I realise that
in Italy someone has to be held responsible in the event of someone's
death, but it is a quirk of the law and the authorities need
to look at that."
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