I think we are all overlooking the simple reason for this accident to happen. The anchor did not follow RENE. Simple enough but some prople do not now what this means. Most people do not have some of the most basic anchor building skills. When I go out with new climbers and they want to set up the anchor, I tell them to rap down and test it out.
For me, rapp is very dangerous and someone who told to a new climber to rap most be sue in law...more than someone who make a mistake and where the result is an injury. In a criminal aspect, one most have the intention to do some thing wrong and I can bet that any of the climber, even those who gave me regularly negative karma, want that an accident happen. Even on the helmet topic, those who dont want to use an helmet gave a safety reason, a false sensation of safety as it is better not to fall in your head without helmet than to fall in your head with an helmet, to not use an helmet (which is true). Those who teach climbing are more concern by criminal sue. There decision to gave information to have more client than to gave borring information or to gave information that prevent accident in a gym, but are dangerous in the wild, make a consciousness act that can endanger some people.
Ounce, I suggest to have an obligatory course for trad climbing to inform people on the basic theory, to make sure that the climber understand the basic of gravity ( if you have a force down (body weight) you most have an equivalent force to pull you up (rope an anchor). This concept is very different than do it like that and like this and you will be safe. For me, climbing is like holding a gun. Today, in Quebec, some one who want to use a gun mos follow a safety course. In my driving course, long time ago, I had a session where they show me what happen if I was careless. It help me to stay concentrate on the road even today (belt, distance, speed, etc).
After setting an anchor, a second climber can verify the set up with a beginer or occasional climber. The new climber are generaly very carefull at not making mistake. The danger is more when someone know enought to kill themselve and not enought to understand what is going on. Following a leader for one year is not exagerate in those circonstances. Most important: stop to think that easy is 5.9. Those who said that are very close to criminal for me. If your chance of falling is one over 100, there is less chances to be injure than if your chances of falling is fifty percent.