From The New York Times:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Donald L. Blankenship, a titan of the nation’s coal industry whose approach to business was scrutinized and scorned after 29 workers were killed at the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010, was convicted Thursday of a federal charge of conspiring to violate mine safety standards, part of a case that emerged after the accident, the deadliest in mining in the United States in decades.
The verdict reached by a federal jury here made Mr. Blankenship, 65, the most prominent American coal executive ever to be convicted of a charge connected to the deaths of miners. He had been accused of conspiring to violate mine safety regulations, as well as of deceiving investors and regulators; prosecutors secured a conviction on only one of the three charges. Mr. Blankenship was acquitted of making false statements and securities fraud. He faces a maximum of one year in prison on the misdemeanor conspiracy charge.
But the verdict was, by most measures, a defeat for the Justice Department, which had pursued a prosecution that could have led to a 30-year prison term. A lawyer for Mr. Blankenship, a former chief executive of the Massey Energy Company, said he intended to appeal the verdict. The trial began with jury selection on Oct. 1 and jurors started deliberations on Nov. 17 after the defense rested its case without presenting any witnesses.
www.nytimes.com/…
Fucking hell.
Well, I suppose it is better than nothing. Here’s hoping Blankenshit isn’t able to squirm out of his short prison sentence. But we’ve seen this movie before — the extremely rich always avoid jail time.
Peace to to the family and friends of the 29 workers killed at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.