It is the first time that a coal executive has been charged and found guilty for violations related to a disaster at a mine.
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He now faces the possibility of a year in jail and a maximum $250,000 fine when he will be sentenced in March.
A federal prosecutor says the conviction of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship on a misdemeanor charge marks a “landmark day for the safety of coal miners”. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. They have deliberated for all or part of nine days.
“This is a landmark day for the safety of coal miners, and not just coal miners, but all working men and women”, he added.
After a two-month trial in U.S. District Court in Charleston, W. Va., former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy, one of three criminal counts against him. He faced up to 30 years in prison if he was convicted on all charges. He also was cleared of fraud charges for misleading regulators and investigators about the state of safety measures in the company’s mines, according to a report from Politico.
The explosion at the mine killed 29 people.
I think it brings justice and justice that was long overdue.
“Them was good men”, Davis said.
“We are disappointed, but not as disappointed as we could have been”. This is a case which should never have been brought.
“It’s really hard to complain when you have to work in conditions like that knowing that you are the sole breadwinner, you are the one with the insurance benefits, you are the one who pays for your kids and your wife’s health-care benefits”, she said.
Since Oct. 1, Peterson and a few other relatives of victims have walked through the same Charleston courthouse doors as the man they want imprisoned – sometimes right beside him – without picketing or confrontations. “He was only 25”. “This sends a message to all CEOs, owners and operators”. But with his gaze fixed on the bottom line, Blankenship crushed the mine workers union that was baptized in his backyard.
The conviction caps a wide-spanning investigation into Massey following the explosion. The probe produced four other convictions up the Massey corporate chain, leading to Mr. Blankenship.
The prosecution’s case attempted to depict Blankenship as a micromanager who pushed production over safety. At the time Massey, which was later sold to a rival, had thousands of safety violation citations.
And prosecutors consistently reminded jurors that a conspiracy doesn’t have to be spelled out formally between parties.
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The case went to the jury more quickly than anticipated, after “Blankenship’s defense team rested its case without calling a single witness”, as West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported in a summary of the trial.
