system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why do corporations who cause deaths only get fined, but people get imprisoned?

Why is it, if a corporation causes deaths through gross negligence, they only get fined, but, if a person did the exact same thing, they would be charged with manslaughter and imprisoned?

Specific (theoretical) example: If a company failed to check and enforce safety regulations regarding the securing of unstable large objects and one fell down and killed people, the company would be fined. But if a person fails to properly secure materials they are transporting on their car and some falls off and kills people, they get charged with manslaughter.
gpt
To some extent it's a matter of scale and sadly, cost.

Who do you put in jail? The people who marketed the product? People who developed it? Management? Upper management? CEO? For a corporation of 1000+ people, how much does it cost to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the difference between indifference, competence, and true criminal negligence?

In cases where companies knew something was dangerous and sold it anyways, a lot of times this information comes out decades later as scientific and medical knowledge advances. Sometimes it's outside the statute of limitations, and investigations in general are much more difficult years down the line.