So it looks like the family of that California woman who died of water intoxication after participating in a radio station-sponsored contest will only be able to find the justice they seek in civil, and not criminal, court, as the Sacramento County district attorney has decided not to file charges against 107.9 The End or any of its employees (or ex-employees, as the case may be, since many were fired as a result of the January 12th incident). In a statement released to the press, D.A. Jan Scully argued that 28-year-old single mom Jennifer Strange knew exactly what she was getting into when she signed up to compete for that Wii, and that her lack of symptoms while chugging down those two gallons of water relieved station employees of any culpability. Of course the Strange family still has the opportunity to hit The End's owner, Entercom, where it hurts, when they face the company in court to seek what will likely be millions of dollars over Strange's alleged wrongful death. Now we're no lawyers, but we've watched enough courtroom dramas to feel confident opining on the finer points of the law, and we're predicting a quiet out of court settlement here -- because even if jurors believe that the DJ's lacked malicious intent and took the proper precautions, the fact that they come off like callous buffoons during the broadcast should be enough to convince the defense that a trial is not the best option.

[Via digg]

Yeah, you could see this one coming way back when the original tragedy actually happened, but after getting things all lined up, it seems that the family of Jennifer Lea Strange will be aiming for Sacramento-based KDND-FM, its parent company Entercom, and the employees associated with the whole "Hold your wee for a Wii" ordeal in a wrongful death lawsuit. Although on-air personalities claimed that the contestants signed "a release," that paper was apparently one that simply "granted the station permission to use the contest in its promotional materials," and the family lawyer believes that no waiver of liability was ever signed. Notably, the FCC has jumped into the investigation as well at the request of the family's attorney, as one of their suggestions is to have the station "taken off the air." Per usual, the lawsuit "seeks unspecified medical, legal, burial, and funeral costs," as well as presumably lofty sums of money to compensate for "other punitive damages," which we're fairly sure they'll end up receiving.

[Thanks, Jason D.]