In some cases, I would approve the removal of the governor in NY state, but this elevator incident seems like a criminal mistake.
I worked in power plants for five years 45 years ago and observed back then that 1) safety training was often non-existent or deficient and 2) even with training, it was often ignored.
We were supposed to always lock out rotating machinery with our own locks, but that was rarely done. A colleague was inside a huge fan (think a squirrel cage fan 12 feet in diameter with a 2,000 hp motor) when it was started. Those things took a long time to get up to speed and he was able to scramble out the hatch before it got real ugly.
I was at work one day with a bad cold and had taken some over the counter cold medication. A co-worker was poking at a stuck pneumatic switch on a burner igniter with his finger and I warned him “Don’t do that! The igniter can retract at any time and take off your finger or hand.”
So what did I do? I asked “What’s wrong with it?” and poked it with MY finger. Sure enough, the igniter retracted and I pulled my hand away, but I’m still missing a tiny bit of the tip of my left index finger. I can see it right now as I type this!
I had a couple of life-threatening situations, but got through them all, thank God. Fortunately, I never saw anybody get killed or seriously injured.
Hard to distinguish such negligence from intentional homicide.
Back in the 90’s we had an employee at our plant whose wife was in a local hospital. While transferring her to another floor, her gurney was half way into the elevator when the brake gave out and the elevator floor plunged down and she was crushed. Horrible accident, don’t know how the settlement turned out.