Legal Settlement
The four-year legal battle by the family of Jean Charles de Menezes ended when they reached a settlement with Scotland Yard. The Metropolitan police agreed to pay compensation to the family, and in return the relatives of Menezes agreed to end their legal action. The sum of money involved in the settlement is believed to be just over £100,000; in addition the family's substantial legal costs were paid. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner said "a further unreserved apology to the family for the tragic death of Jean Charles de Menezes and to reiterate that he was a totally innocent victim and in no way to blame for his untimely death."
Some have reacted critically to the level of compensation paid by the Metropolitan Police; one commentator, comparing the level or payout to awards at stake in Employment Tribunals, speculated that "Perhaps life was worth less because he was poor."
Read more about this topic: Death Of Jean Charles De Menezes
Famous quotes containing the words legal and/or settlement:
“In ‘70 he married again, and I having, voluntarily, assumed the legal guilt of breaking my marriage contract, do cheerfully accept the legal penalty—a life of celibacy—bringing no charge against him who was my husband, save that he was not much better than the average man.”
—Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815–1884)
“The Settlement ... is an experimental effort to aid in the solution of the social and industrial problems which are engendered by the modern conditions of life in a great city. It insists that these problems are not confined to any one portion of the city. It is an attempt to relieve, at the same time, the overaccumulation at one end of society and the destitution at the other ...”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)