Look Out Below

Jeb Corliss, who attempted to BASE jump from the Empire State Building but was nabbed by security and cops before he could do so, had charges of reckless endangerment dropped against him by Judge Michael Ambrecht.

Until yesterday, Jeb Corliss, 30, had faced up to seven years in prison for first-degree reckless endangerment. But Corliss is a free man - and the charge against him is dismissed - thanks to a legal loophole big enough to jump one of his $3,500 customized stunt parachutes through.

Under state law, a charge of first-degree reckless endangerment requires prosecutors to prove Corliss showed a "depraved indifference" to the risk of killing bystanders.

But Justice Michael Ambrecht found that Corliss, who has some 3,000 successful jumps under his belt, was too experienced and too obviously concerned with public safety to have met the "depraved indifference" standard.

And what if Corliss would have dropped on some unsuspecting pedestrian or hit/fell in front of a car on busy 34th Street? The streets were not closed off to traffic, but instead busy as they usually are for the time when Corliss attempted the jump.

Ambrecht seems to think that wearing a parachute constitutes some measure of public safety? How many times have we seen or heard about parachute drops that have gone wrong and put themselves, onlookers, and/or rescue personnel into harm's way?

Prosecutors will reexamine the case. In the meantime, I think someone ought to look at the applicable law and close this supposed loophole.

Gothamist and the NYT also comment.