This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah prosecutors have been deliberating about whether to press charges in the case of the woman who was seriously injured when she drank tea that contained lye rather than sugar at a South Jordan restaurant August 10. To my knowledge, no one has alleged there was any intent to harm. But the state has an interest in prosecuting cases of negligence where people not exercising reasonable care hurt someone.
So why are charges not being considered in the case of the man who accidentally shot his brother at the Lagoon campground on August 15? Why is it that negligence with lye, or an automobile, or anything other than a gun, is subject to such prosecution while the negligent handling of firearms gets a pass?
R. Summerfield
Salt Lake City