| The summary of
a new Justice Department report indicates
other people also were involved in causing the huge 1988 explosion
that killed six KC firefighters.
Who were they? When is current U.S. Attorney
Beth Phillips going to try to prosecute these new suspects? Her
refusal Wednesday to answer questions about the case and the
surprising new information was a dereliction
of duty.
s report was prompted by
questions raised by The Stars reporters about the conviction
of five people in the 1988 blast.
Yes, the new report claims the five people are
still guilty of the crime, something The Star has questioned
previously because of statements made by others involved in the
case. Those statements to the newspaper essentially have indicated
other people were responsible, partly or wholly, for
the incident.
The Justice Department needs to release the
full, 20-page report so the public can more clearly see why the U.S.
government claims the five people are still guilty. (Four are in
prison; one has since died.)
d say that - even more
importantly - the government needs to release the full report so we
can find out whether new trials ought to be held to prosecute others
who may have been involved in the
deadly explosion.
s not enough for the Justice Department to simply say, oh,
by the way, others may have been responsible for
the crimes.
These people need to be brought to justice, too
- just like the government claims the five others were brought to
justice more than a decade ago when they were convicted and sent
to prison. | 
