STATE OF INDIANA V. FORD MOTOR COMPANY REVISITEDt PAUL J. BECKER University of Dayton ARTHUR J. JIPSON University of Dayton ALAN S. BRUCE Quinnipiac University ABSTRACT: In 1980, a jury returned "not guilty" verdicts on three counts of reckless homicide against the Ford Motor Company. The company was indicted when three girls were killed after their Ford Pinto burst into flames following a rear impact collision. This paper re-examines the consequences of this landmark case involving corporate wrongdoing from the perspectives of the participants 20 years later. Interviews were conducted with 22 individuals directly involved with the litigation, as well as with insightful observers and experts. The lasting impact of this case is demonstrated through its influence on the development of corporate liability, even though the company was found "not guilty." INTRODUCTION Three teenage girls in Elkhart, Indiana were killed when their Ford Pinto was struck from behind and burst into flames in August of 1978. At the time, there were a number of civil suits alleging that the Ford Motor Company had designed, built, and sold defective automobiles (see Cullen, Maakestad, & Cavender, 1987, pp. 163-165). The distin- guishing characteristic of the Indiana accident and subsequent trial was the unique action taken by Elkhart County prosecutor Michael Cosen- tino in pursuing a criminal case. Cosentino believed the Ford Motor Company should be held criminally responsible for the deaths. After presenting his arguments, a local grand jury indicted the Ford Corpora- tion on three counts of reckless homicide. Cosentino's rationale for pursuing the case against the Ford Motor Company was his belief that corporations, like individuals, should be t Direct all correspondence to: Paul S. Becker, University of Dayton, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-1142. E- mail: Paul.Becker@notes.udayton.edu. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Vol. 26 No. 2, 2002 9 2002 Southern Criminal Justice Association