Peter-
Second degree manslaughter:
(1) A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when, with criminal negligence, he causes the death of another person.
Definition of criminal negligence:
d) CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE. A person is criminally negligent or acts with criminal negligence when he fails to be aware of a substantial risk that a wrongful act may occur and his failure to be aware of such substantial risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable man would exercise in the same situation.
(2) Substitutes for Criminal Negligence, Recklessness, and Knowledge. When a statute provides that criminal negligence suffices to establish an element of an offense, such element also is established if a person acts intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. When recklessness suffices to establish an element, such element also is established if a person acts intentionally or knowingly. When acting knowingly suffices to establish an element, such element also is established if a person acts intentionally.
This is my first attempt at responding so forgive me if I screw this up. Was it the instructor's actions that caused Chad's death? It seems to me that Chad chose to do this dive and the instructor can only be charged with negligence if this tragedy had occurred in his class. Otherwise, they were two buddies who planned a bounce dive that went terribly wrong. I am not saying that the instructor should not suffer some consequence from his action-losing his certification as a Naui instructor, of course. Unlike Peter, I am not a lawyer and there well may be grounds for criminal charges here. My concern is that Chad's dive buddy was a certified instructor. How did he get his certification in the first place with his attitude? Having obtained my OW certification through PADI, I know I did not receive adequate training about gas management, teamwork, dive planning etc., and that who teaches you is vital to your safety. A new diver may not be able to competently gauge the quality of the instructor yet puts him/herself under their control. I believe that the vast majority of instructors are excellent, Grateful Diver is primo! I am wondering if the system is there to weed out the bad ones.