Federal Jury Hands Down Rare Conviction For Coal Executive

Blankenship could face up to one year for the misdemeanor charge of conspiracy when he is sentenced March 23.

Blankenship was acquitted on two other felony charges, according to CNN affiliate WCHS: securities fraud and making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. Berger’s response was it had been a long trial and they should continue to deliberate. It’s a starkly different scene from the fourth anniversary of the April 2010 blast, when some Upper Big Branch families circled outside the same courthouse, many with Blankenship’s photo on wild-west style signs that blared, “WANTED for Murder”.

Judy Jones Petersen, whose brother was among the 29 men who died at Upper Big Branch, said the decision had put coal mine executives and operators on notice about safety.

An ardent free-marketer who blogged under the heading “American Competitionist”, Blankenship argued that inept regulators were largely to blame for the mine disaster and that he sought to crack down on the number of regulatory violations at Upper Big Branch.

“The CEO and chairman of one of America’s largest coal companies now stands convicted”, Mr. Goodwin said.

But Blankenship’s lawyers said that he had urged lower-ranking executives to reduce violations and that he had approved investments and purchases that improved safety in a risky industry. He helped Massey grow into the nation’s fourth-largest coal company by revenue, but under his guidance it acquired a reputation for placing profits before people.

Blankenship’s defense team said the government offered no evidence he was involved in a conspiracy.

“We are disappointed in the verdict. The case should have never been brought”, Taylor said.

As a verdict came in for Don Blankenship’s role in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, the man who may have lost the most in the explosion was nowhere to be found.

Just a wink, he was asked? “He was only 25”. At the time, a miners union official said, “Until someone goes to jail, there will be no justice done here”. “I hope everyone of those miners visits him in his dreams”. Blankenship battled the miners union while heading Massey.

MARRA: No further charges are expected in the Massey investigation.

Perhaps most importantly, they heard dueling interpretations of an array of memos and programs about safety at Massey, a company that had thousands of safety citations.

And prosecutors consistently reminded jurors that a conspiracy need not be spelled out formally between parties.

Prosecutors made their case with Blankenship’s own voice, using phone calls he secretly recorded in his Massey office.

“I kind of ran from it”, Tommy Davis said.