Lawyers could charge big oil with homicide after 2023 Arizona heatwave

Charges are reasonable after July 2023 extreme weather event, prosecutors write in new memorandum

Prosecutors in Arizona could reasonably press homicide charges against big oil for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave, lawyers wrote in a new prosecution memorandum.

[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors," the document says.