Don Blankenship's Conviction Upheld On Appeal

Click here for my earlier post entitled "Don Blankenship Must Go To Jail."

Click here for an article at AP News, by Michael Virtanen, entitled "Appeals court affirms conviction of coal CEO in deadly blast."

Don Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy, was convicted in 2015 of a misdemeanor, conspiring to violate the federal mining safety law, and sentenced to a maximum year in prison. Three felony counts were dismissed, unfortunately. He's scheduled for release on May 10 from the minimum-security prison at Taft, California.

Today, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the conviction on appeal, finding no reversible error in the lower court's decision.

The court said the evidence shows Massey was repeatedly cited for safety violations at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch coal mine before the 2010 explosion that killed 29 men. In 2009 alone, the U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration identified 549 violations there, the court noted.

Blankenship was aware of violations, receiving daily reports, Judge James Wynn wrote. Many concerned improper ventilation and accumulation of combustible materials.

"Notwithstanding the numerous citations and warnings, defendant has a 'policy to invariably press for more production even at mines that he knew were struggling to keep up with the safety laws,'" Wynn wrote. Chief Judge Roger Gregory and Senior Judge Andre Davis agreed.

Once one of the most powerful men in West Virginia, Blankenship spent millions backing Republican lawmakers and judges supportive of the coal industry. He describes himself as "an American political prisoner."