Ex-Massey CEO’s Lawyers: Keep West Virginia Mine Blast Out of Criminal Trial
Attorneys for former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship want evidence about the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia kept out of his criminal trial this fall. The Charleston...
View ArticleDeadly West Virginia Mine Explosion Trial Puts Spotlight on Massey’s King Coal
Before death came to Upper Big Branch Mine, Donald L. Blankenship managed his patch of Appalachia like King Coal incarnate. Outside homes in rural West Virginia flew the banner of his company, Massey...
View ArticleMassey Mines Alerted Workers When Safety Inspectors on Site: Testimony
Massey Energy executives used an advanced warning system at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine to alert workers as soon as federal inspectors arrived on site, a former miner testified Thursday at the...
View ArticleFormer West Virginia Mine Worker Talks Safety Shortcuts in Blankenship Trial
A key government witness testified in West Virginia that prosecutors had threatened to charge him alongside his old coal boss, and he was under an immunity agreement Friday when he took the stand. In...
View ArticleFinal Witness Called by Prosecution in Blankenship Trial
The prosecution has called its final witness in the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. FBI Special Agent James Lafferty was questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneys Tuesday in...
View ArticleDefense Rests in West Virginia Mine Blast Trial, Blankenship Stays Mum
Former Massey Energy Chief Donald Blankenship won’t take the witness stand to explain what happened when a company mine exploded in 2010 killing 29 workers, choosing instead to leave his fate in the...
View ArticleBlankenship Case in Limbo in West Virginia as Jurors Struggle to Reach Verdict
After a third full day of deliberations, a jury recessed Friday without reaching a verdict in the criminal trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Jurors had been trying since Tuesday, Nov. 17,...
View ArticleBlankenship Jury Still Deadlocked in West Virginia Mine Blast Case
Jurors at former Massey Energy Co. Chief Donald Blankenship’s criminal trial ended their eighth day of deliberations after telling the judge they remain deadlocked on charges the coal executive plotted...
View ArticleBlankenship Found Guilty of Conspiracy in W. Virginia Mine Blast
Former Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship was found guilty in federal court on Thursday of conspiring to violate safety standards at the Upper Big Branch mine, the site of a 2010 blast that...
View ArticleBlankenship Sentencing Set For Next Year in West Virginia Mine Case
Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will be sentenced next year on a conviction of conspiring to violate safety rules at the mine where a deadly explosion occurred. U.S. District Judge Irene...
View ArticleWest Virginia Coal Boss Should Face Maximum Sentence, U.S. Says
Former coal baron Donald Blankenship should face the maximum sentence of one year in prison for flouting mine-safety rules, prosecutors said, urging a judge to send a message to the coal industry. The...
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