The Big Question: Will anyone from BP be prosecuted over spill?

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit said:

Given that the Obama Administration’s regulators gave the Deepwater Horizon a safety award — and were scheduled to present BP with environmental-safety awards this spring until cancelled at the last minute post-spill — a prosecution is going to be rather embarrassing.  And given that this Administration threatens prosecution a lot, but worries about bad publicity, I rather doubt it will amount to much.

That’s especially true given that there’s reason to suspect that BP was getting regulatory favors in exchange for giving more money to Obama than to any other politician.  Sounds like a can of worms nobody in the White House will really want to open

John F. McManus, president of The John Birch Society, said:

If crimes leading to Gulf spill were committed, it certainly is possible that some individuals will be convicted and given prison sentences.
 
But you asked about “BP workers.”  It is highly unlikely that any of the on-the-job workers would be convicted of crimes.  The greater possibility for charges and eventual convictions would be company executives.
 
Watch for the Obama administration to seek favorable public opinion by throwing the book at BP.  This is another crisis that presents a terrific opportunity for exploitation.  And we can be sure that it will not be wasted.

Peter Navarro, professor of economics and public policy at U.C. Irvine, said:

Absolutely.  I’m sure there are hundreds of BP workers that violated Section 07894 of the Scapecoat Statute, all of them below executive grade.  Let’s hope they get cells right next to all of the guys in the White House who will be convicted of malign neglect through the first month of the crisis.

 
Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com, said:

BP “workers” might go to jail — BP execs: no way.