SEATTLE — The New York Times is reporting Boeing may evade criminal charges for violating its settlement following two deadly 737 Max 8 plane crashes.
The New York Times reports the plane maker could be allowed to enter into another agreement to get out of facing charges.
Attorneys representing victims' families said the DOJ had not made a decision, and by law, the victim's families would have to be the first to know.
"The DOJ needs to defend the public. They need to be real prosecutors and say, no, we don't want perpetrators out there injuring human beings and they need to step up and take that posture," Nadia Mulleron said.
Nadia's daughter died in the brand new 737 Max jet that crashed in Ethiopia five years ago. She and other victim's families sent a letter Wednesday to the DOJ calling for the prosecution of past Boeing executives and a $24 billion fine.
"They need to have consequences for their actions in order to change that behavior. One way of doing that, and an effective way of doing that, is by holding up billions of dollar signs over their head and say, correct your behavior or you're going to have to face this massive fine," Mulleron said.
Boeing previously avoided criminal charges after the two deadly 737 Max 8 crashes that killed 346 people by entering into an agreement to overhaul its compliance program for three years. January's door plug blowout happened just before the agreement expired and now prosecutors are deciding whether or not to revive those criminal charges.
"Normally, if a criminal defendant negotiates a sweetheart deal but then violates the conditions of that deal, DOJ would bring the hammer down. That said, Boeing is not a normal defendant. This is a company that's critical to our economy, and also national security. You can bet DOJ is taking that into account," said Mark Linquist, an attorney representing some of the crash victim's families.
Lindquist said the DOJ has three options: a jury trial, force a guilty plea, or do a deferred prosecution, which would appoint a federal monitor to oversee safety protocols.
"The problem with the third option is that it isn't going to feel like accountability and justice to the victim's families or to the public," Lindquist said.
"We all want Boeing to succeed, we want the company to return to the days of engineering and excellence, but Boeing apparently has to be forced to change their culture and refocus on safety and quality," Lindquist said.
The Department of Justice declined to comment, and the agency has until July 7 to reach a decision.