11903.fb2 ГУЛаг Палестины - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 477

ГУЛаг Палестины - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 477

But in 1990, according to the New York Times, his

misrepresentations began to unravel. The Attorney

General of Alabama questioned his expertise. Illinois

terminated his contract after determining that his

machine for injecting cyanide would cause prisoners

unnecessary pain.

The Alabama warden's actions were in response to Leuchter's

having testified against the Florida prison system when an

inmate brought suit against her electrocution sentence on the

basis that the antiquated equipment there constituted cruel

and unusual punishment, which it demonstrably did. The

Alabama produced letter to other wardens warned them that if

Leuchter tried to sell them equipment and they refused to buy,

he might wind up testifying against them. This libelous and

career threatening action might have brought great financial

penalty on him and the state of Alabama were not Leuchter by

this time a sufficient pariah who saw no hope of getting a fair

shake in court. The comments regarding Illinois describe only

an excuse given which has no basis in reality.

Then, in October 1990, Leuchter was charged with

fraud in Massachusetts. It was revealed that he had

only a bachelor's degree in history, and was not

licensed to practice engineering in Massachusetts. In

June 1991, to avoid a trial in which he would surely

have been convicted, Leuchter admitted that, "I am

not and have never been registered as a professional

engineer", and that he had falsely represented himself

as one. Under the consent agreement, Leuchter

agreed to stop "using in any manner whatsoever the

title 'engineer'", and to stop distribution of the

Leuchter report.

See comments above about this charge. Leuchter did not at

any time advertise himself as a "professional engineer" but

only as an "execution engineer." He never "falsely

represented himself as one" as Shallit states. It is not even

illegal for him to advertise and work as an execution engineer

unless one would seriously make the case that this involves

public safety. It is not illegal in Massachussets to work and

advertise as an engineer in a great many areas. Shallit's

comment is based on surmise which is in turn based on

ignorance of the terminologies and their meanings. The

difference between "professional engineer" and "engineer" is

not a trivial distinction. The title "Professional Engineer"

(Massachussets equivalent "licensed engineer" in other

locations "state certified engineer") is that used to legally

certify documents as correct, and the certifier must in many

states (but far from all) have certain qualifications (which vary)

to do this. Such a certification places all liability on the

certifying engineer for any errors, and absolves others of

blame for implementing his mistakes--hence the legal