From reading the original decision and from what Thom Hartmann has cited from the writings of the Chief Justice at the time of the decision, I conclude that the law clerk, a corporate shill heavily vested in the railroad industry, took some serious liberties with the head notes when the decision was recorded.
The court specificly refused to discuss whether corporations were persons under the 14th Ammendment and thus entitled to due process of the law. The court assumed that they were entitled to due process but did not tie that in any way to the 14th Ammendment. No rational human being could do so. But, because corporations are people's property, other provisions of the consttitution require due process before siezing or taxing them. Thus, I would conclude that any subsequent decision based upon the notion that corporate personhood is stare decisus was made in error.
If corproations are, for now, to enjoy the advantages of personhood, they need also to face the possibility of utter ruin when they commit heinous violations of the law. Fining them does not seem to stop them from doing things that must inevitably lead to the loss of human lives. The fact that some of the BP scum have ordered people not to wear respirators is proof of that. Obviously, the supervisors should be charged unless they roll over on whoever gave them the order, and those people should be arrested and charged as well, no matter how high up the food chain it goes. The penalties obviously need to be more severe as you go up the chain of command because of greater culpability and reduced vulnerability of the actors. If it becomes an obvious feature of the corproate culture, then the corporation must, in the interest of public safety, be forced to comply with the regulations or cease operation and be criminally charged wirth any crimes against individuals harmed. An affirmative order not to wear protective gear is not negligent. It is intentional, and constitutes depraved indifference to life. Obviously, these corporate fools are not going to get the point until people start going to jail, and if the suits are making first-line supervisors dfo this to workers, then it is the suits who should be waving bye-bye to the first line supervisors from INSIDE the razor wire.
And when the corporation so mangaes to infiltrate and cortrupt a government regulatory body as BP and like companies did, at cost of human lives, it is essential to the survival of a democratic nation that that corporation cease to exist. Nothing short of the possible extinguishment of their treasure is going to impress these idiots and make them act like decent human beings.
