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Quincy were about to lose everything. That’s why I went down to that levee. I had no plans to hurt anything. They needed help, so I helped." While he denied any intent to cause any harm, he said, "I didn't mean to cause a problem but I did... I'm up shit creek." He was released after an hour and a half. However, he was convicted of burglary in
January 1994 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
97:. By July 16, the river had stopped rising and had dropped 1.5 feet (46 cm) below the levee. That night, however, the levee unexpectedly failed when the river burst through its main stem. The resulting flood inundated 14,000 acres (57 km) on the Missouri side of the river. In one incident, a barge was sucked into the levee and slammed into a gas station, causing a fire.
158:
Meanwhile, authorities on both sides of the river joined federal authorities to investigate the case. Their investigation eventually led to Joe Flachs, an old friend of Scott's. Flachs told authorities that Scott had told him he had broken the levee so he could strand his wife, Suzie, on the
Missouri
166:
Scott was tried under a 1979 Missouri law that made it a crime to intentionally cause a catastrophe. The law, codified as
Section 569.070 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, defined a catastrophe as "death or serious physical injury to ten or more people or substantial damage to five or more buildings
149:
On
October 1, Quincy police arrested Scott on an unrelated burglary charge. During questioning, he admitted to pulling four sandbags from one portion of the levee and moving them to the trouble spot he had claimed to have seen. He told police, "My town was in trouble. The folks in Quincy and in West
137:
Scott's account of the flood sounded suspicious to Neal Baker, a sergeant with the Quincy Police
Department. Baker was familiar with Scott; he had arrested Scott for the 1982 and 1988 arsons while he was a patrolman. For one thing, Baker noticed that Scott looked too clean to have been working on a
203:
caused to his land, although he did not have flood insurance. Since the flood was determined to have been caused by vandalism, rather than a natural disaster, Haerr was able to collect on his homeowner's insurance. Haerr did not disclose his financial interest in Scott's conviction at his trial.
202:
Among those who testified against James Scott was Norman Haerr, then president of the Fabius River
Drainage District and the largest owner of land on the Missouri side of the river directly affected by the flood. According to a Vice News documentary, Haerr received an insurance payout for damages
141:
Missouri authorities were also suspicious. The levee had failed at one of its strongest points, and that area had been inspected two hours earlier, although later, two independent soil-science experts testified there was strong evidence the levee failed due to natural causes. They became even more
124:
affiliate in Quincy, was told by two
Department of Transport workers at the edge of the bridge that a man standing close by was first on the scene. She walked up to him and Scott volunteered to do a live interview with her and photographer Rick Junkerman. Scott said that he had seen a weak spot on
174:
Prosecutors and investigators believed that Scott either removed or cut the plastic sheets covering the levee, then burrowed through the sand until the water rushed in. The defense rested largely on two soil-science experts who testified there was strong evidence the levee failed due to natural
163:. As the story went, Scott wanted to be free to party, fish, and have an affair. Investigators subsequently found other witnesses who said Scott boasted about breaking the levee at a party after the flood. Based on this evidence, Scott was taken to Missouri for trial in November 1994.
199:. Prosecutors had not told the defense about two witnesses who reportedly heard Scott say he had deliberately broken the levee. He was retried in 1998, and convicted a second time after three hours of deliberation on April 30. The original sentence was reinstated on July 6.
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said a last-minute decision to bring in bulldozers to shore up the levee actually weakened its structural integrity. The prosecution presented numerous witnesses claiming to have heard Scott bragging about breaking the levee, and pointed to the inconsistencies in his story.
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After a three-day trial, the jury deliberated for four hours and then convicted Scott of causing a catastrophe. A month later, he was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, to run consecutively with his 10-year burglary sentence in
Illinois.
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The flood washed out all of the bridges in the area—the only links across the river for 200 miles (320 km). While no one was killed, many people on the
Missouri side of the river had to drive 80 miles (130 km) to either
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66:. In 1982, he burned down his elementary school, Webster Elementary School in Quincy. In 1988, he burned down a garage and set several other fires, getting him a sentence of seven years in prison.
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or inhabitable structures or substantial damage to a vital public facility which seriously impairs its usefulness or operation." Due to publicity, the trial took place in
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According to the
September 8, 2017 "Criminal" podcast episode titled "Catastrophe", that features Scott, he is eligible for parole in 2026. He maintains his innocence.
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the levee and tried to put more sandbags along it. He then said he went for a drink, only to come back and discover the levee had let go. He then helped the
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levee all day. He also had trouble recalling simple details about working on the levee. Baker also noticed that Scott was not wearing a life jacket.
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load boats into the floodwaters. In a second interview with McCormack at his home which aired after his arrest, he told a similar story.
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58:. By his twenties, he had a criminal record and had served time in six prisons. While most of these arrests were for
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said there had been "something like 11 or 12 levee failures" upriver from West Quincy, and Charles Morris of the
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109:, fly, or take a ferry to get across the river for several weeks after the waters receded. One major bridge, the
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146:, sheriff's deputies questioned him a week after the flood, and he was unable to keep his story straight.
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suspicious when they found out about Scott's extensive criminal record, including the arsons.
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24:(born November 20, 1969) is an American who was convicted of causing a massive flood of the
829:"New film about James Scott takes look back at Flood of 1993, questions his life sentence"
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769:"Damned to Eternity: The Story of the Man Who They Said Caused the Flood by Adam Pitluk"
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in 1993, the Scotts, along with several other residents living in and around Quincy and
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in Quincy and spent most of his nights drinking heavily. He lived in the nearby town of
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By 1993, Scott was out of prison on parole for the 1988 fire. He worked at a
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651:"Causing a Natural Disaster to Party: The Case of James Scott | Overlooked"
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and a 2022 Vice News documentary have been critical of Scott's conviction.
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799:"Video Claims James Scott Innocent of 1993 West Quincy Levee Break"
529:"2005 Missouri Revised Statutes - § 569.070. — Causing catastrophe"
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side of the river. Suzie worked as a waitress at a truck stop in
292:"Convicted Arsonist Faces Trial in Breaching of Missouri Levee"
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379:"Guilty Verdict Brings Relief To Victims of '93 Levee Break"
36:. Scott is currently serving a sentence of 20 years to
493:"Floods in Missouri Prevent Border Crossing for Miles"
93:, spent much of mid-July reinforcing the West Quincy
461:"Clinton Tours Floods and Considers Sending Troops"
708:"Jailed Jimmy Scott opens up about Flood of '93"
191:Scott appealed, and on February 25, 1997, the
171:, 68 miles (109 km) west of West Quincy.
8:
587:"Life in Prison For Saboteur Of River Levee"
224:is critical of Scott's conviction. The 2022
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304:from the original on January 29, 2018
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630:from the original on 1 December 2022
473:from the original on August 17, 2018
40:in a Missouri prison. The 2007 book
888:Prisoners and detainees of Missouri
706:Sowers, Carol (February 25, 2013).
255:Lyons, Stephen (January 11, 2008).
687:from the original on July 23, 2019
599:from the original on April 2, 2019
563:. November 4, 1994. Archived from
269:from the original on June 29, 2019
14:
344:Pitluk, Adam (January 19, 2006).
377:Glass, Doug (November 6, 1994).
195:threw out the conviction due to
839:from the original on 2023-02-06
809:from the original on 2023-02-03
779:from the original on 2023-05-29
750:from the original on 2023-05-29
505:. July 17, 1993. Archived from
459:Jehl, Douglas (July 18, 1993).
555:"Man Guilty of Damaging Levee"
116:Reporter Michele McCormack of
1:
428:"Coverage of Scott's retrial"
62:, they also included two for
883:People from Quincy, Illinois
797:Holliday, Doc (2022-12-05).
181:University of Missouri-Rolla
175:causes. David Hammer of the
904:
827:Adam, David (2022-12-07).
262:(Minneapolis) Star Tribune
193:Missouri Court of Appeals
197:prosecutorial misconduct
620:"Causing a Catastrophy"
85:During flooding on the
177:University of Missouri
144:Adams County, Illinois
503:National Public Radio
214:Journalism professor
77:with his wife Suzie.
30:West Quincy, Missouri
16:American (born 1969)
595:. December 6, 1994.
300:. October 30, 1994.
257:"Holes in the case?"
567:on October 20, 2012
560:The Washington Post
509:on October 20, 2012
391:on October 20, 2012
232:was also critical.
34:Great Flood of 1993
873:American arsonists
739:Damned to Eternity
221:Damned to Eternity
43:Damned to Eternity
22:James Robert Scott
773:Publishers Weekly
384:Chicago Sun-Times
87:Mississippi River
54:Scott grew up in
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863:1969 births
624:weather.com
346:"Scapegoat"
127:Coast Guard
71:Burger King
857:Categories
843:2023-05-30
813:2023-05-30
783:2023-05-29
754:2023-05-29
661:1 December
634:1 December
236:References
230:Overlooked
218:2007 book
207:Post-trial
169:Kirksville
50:Early life
226:Vice News
103:St. Louis
837:Archived
807:Archived
777:Archived
748:Archived
722:June 14,
716:Archived
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471:Archived
444:June 14,
433:Court TV
395:June 14,
362:June 14,
308:June 14,
302:Archived
273:June 14,
267:Archived
91:Hannibal
60:burglary
712:KHQA-TV
118:WGEM-TV
120:, the
75:Fowler
154:Trial
95:levee
81:Flood
64:arson
724:2019
693:2019
663:2022
636:2022
605:2019
573:2019
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122:NBC
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