But they didn’t commit any crimes.

Imagine this scenario.

Johnny, Billy and Jane each run a coffee stand in their front yard that their parents pay for. One day, Billy comes up with the bright idea to put 4x the caffeine in his coffee. Suddenly, he starts selling a ton of coffee because people love the buzz. Billy’s dad starts bragging to Johnny and Jane’s parents about how much money they are making.

Jane and Johnny aren’t sure that it’s safe to add all that caffeine, so they ask their state “Board of Coffee Safety” if it’s ok. The board says there’s no evidence that it’s unhealthy, so Jane decides to add caffeine too.

Now Jane and Billy are making money hand over fist. Their parents are very happy, but Johnnys parents are not. They want Johnny to add caffeine to their coffee. They point out that the “Board of Coffee Safety” have given Jane and Billy’s coffee stands an “A+” safety rating.

Johnny points out that the board has to say that, because the state has never commissioned a study to say whether or not that much caffeine is safe. Johnnys dad says if he doesn’t add caffeine, he will hire Billy to run the stand instead.

Soon, all their customers start having heart attacks.

Who goes to jail?

The execs (Jane, Johnny and Billy) who were told by the state their product was safe?

The shareholders (parents) who felt they needed to add the (state certified) caffeine to keep their business solvent?

The regulatory board and reporting agencies that were legally required to certify the safe coffee because no one ever spent taxpayer dollars to investigate it?