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MISSOULA, Mont. Cases in the W.R. Grace & Co. environmental crimes trial went to jurors Wednesday after closing arguments in which prosecutors relied heavily on documents and a company lawyer responded that documents "don't capture the flow of human experience." "You have to listen to what people say, and they said it in this courtroom," defense attorney David Bernick said in highlighting some of the witnesses who have testified since the U.S. District Court trial began Feb. 19. The Columbia-based chemical company and three former executives are accused of conspiring to hide health risks posed by asbestos in vermiculite that Grace mined years ago near Libby in northwestern Montana. Attorneys for some Libby residents blame tremolite asbestos for about 2,000 cases of illness and about 225 deaths in and around the community. Grace bought the mine in 1963 and closed it in 1990.
Associated Press
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