CHICAGO, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- An Illinois appeals court has ruled the deaths of 21 people in a nightclub stampede should not have been considered in the sentencing of the club's owners.
In an opinion Friday, the court ordered a new sentencing for Calvin Hollins Jr. and Dwain Kyles, who owned the nightclub E2, the Chicago Tribune reported. Hollins and Kyles were sentenced to two years in prison for contempt of court for failing to correct a violation found by building inspectors.
In 2003, security guards used pepper spray when a fight broke out in the club. That set off a stampede that left 21 people dead and 50 hurt.
When the owners were sentenced in 2009 for failing to obey a judge's order to close the club because of building code violations, the deadly stampede was treated as an aggravating factor. In their appeal, lawyers argued that prison was too heavy a penalty for violating building codes, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
The appeals court agreed.
"The tragedy here was extraordinary and unforeseeable," the panel wrote.
The Illinois Supreme Court recently reversed an appeals court finding that overturned the contempt convictions. The court sent the case back to a lower court for review.
A defense lawyer said last week's ruling means the two men are unlikely to go to prison.
