{"id":11581,"date":"2017-05-10T23:45:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T07:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence\/"},"modified":"2017-05-10T23:45:28","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T07:45:28","slug":"ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Massey Energy CEO Completes 1-Year Federal Criminal Sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:16px\">By  <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/05\/11\/527886633\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=business\">Doreen McCallister<\/a><\/span>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"ftpimagefix\" style=\"float:left\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/05\/11\/527886633\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=business\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/05\/11\/ap_16188532431868_wide-4a59d69bdf13dd0f8b716d6c131787afd4951e1e-s1100-c15.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/05\/11\/ap_16188532431868_wide-4a59d69bdf13dd0f8b716d6c131787afd4951e1e-s1200.jpg\">Enlarge this image<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, left, walks out of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse on Nov. 24, 2015, after the jury deliberated for a fifth full day in his trial in Charleston, W.Va.<\/p>\n<p>                <b><\/p>\n<p>                    Chris Tilley\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><b><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b><\/div>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p>        Chris Tilley\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, 67, was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2016\/04\/06\/473256648\/former-coal-executive-don-blankenship-sentenced-to-1-year-in-prison\">convicted in 2015<\/a> on a misdemeanor count of conspiring to violate federal mine-safety laws at Massey&#8217;s Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>In 2010, 29 workers died there in the deadliest U.S. mine explosion in decades.<\/p>\n<p>NPR&#8217;s Howard Berkes reports for our Newscast unit that Blankenship has resumed criticizing his prosecution.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;After a year in federal prison and a halfway house, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship immediately let loose on Twitter, condemning federal mine safety regulators, members of Congress and federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He raised again his own theories about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, blaming federal regulators and nature. Those theories were discredited by four investigations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Blankenship was convicted of conspiring to violate mine safety laws.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His release prompted Democrat Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the House Workforce Committee, to again urge passage of a languishing mine safety bill, which would make violations felonies with more serious jail time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Blankenship was acquitted of securities-related felony charges which would have carried a longer sentence.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Blankenship must still serve one year of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p>The<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/blankenship-massey-energys-former-ceo-comes-out-of-prison-tweeting-1494453030\"> Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;Mr. Blankenship provided a window into his incarceration, saying it was tough but in many ways easier to endure than his impoverished upbringing in West Virginia, where he didn&#8217;t have indoor plumbing. He said he spent 10 months at the Taft Correctional Institution outside Bakersfield, Calif., followed by a month at a halfway house in Las Vegas and then one month of home confinement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At Taft, he said he had to return to his room several times a day to be counted and couldn&#8217;t choose what to watch on TV, and the lights went out at 10 p.m. He could have visitors four days a month.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; &#8216;Not being able to go anywhere off a 4-acre site is not pleasant, no matter what the conditions,&#8217; he said. &#8216;It was not horrible.&#8217; &#8220;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Former Upper Big Branch miner Tommy Davis, who lost a son, brother and a nephew in the explosion, told The Associated Press that Blankenship should still be in prison.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He didn&#8217;t get what he deserved,&#8221; Davis said.<\/p>\n<p>The company that now owns Massey Energy announced in 2012 that the mine would be permanently sealed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/\">Let&#8217;s block ads!<\/a><\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\">(Why?)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source:: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/05\/11\/527886633\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=business\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Ex-Massey Energy CEO Completes 1-Year Federal Criminal Sentence\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/05\/11\/527886633\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=business<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ftpimagefix\" style=\"float:left\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/05\/11\/527886633\/ex-massey-energy-ceo-completes-1-year-federal-criminal-sentence?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=business\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/05\/11\/ap_16188532431868_wide-4a59d69bdf13dd0f8b716d6c131787afd4951e1e-s1100-c15.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/05\/11\/ap_16188532431868_wide-4a59d69bdf13dd0f8b716d6c131787afd4951e1e-s1200.jpg\">Enlarge this image<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, left, walks out of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse on Nov. 24, 2015, after the jury deliberated for a fifth full day in his trial in Charleston, W.Va.<\/p>\n<p>                <b><\/p>\n<p>                    Chris Tilley\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><b><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b><\/div>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p>        Chris Tilley\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, 67, was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2016\/04\/06\/473256648\/former-coal-executive-don-blankenship-sentenced-to-1-year-in-prison\">convicted in 2015<\/a> on a misdemeanor count of conspiring to violate federal mine-safety laws at Massey&#8217;s Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>In 2010, 29 workers died there in the deadliest U.S. mine explosion in decades.<\/p>\n<p>NPR&#8217;s Howard Berkes reports for our Newscast unit that Blankenship has resumed criticizing his prosecution.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;After a year in federal prison and a halfway house, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship immediately let loose on Twitter, condemning federal mine safety regulators, members of Congress and federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He raised again his own theories about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, blaming federal regulators and nature. Those theories were discredited by four investigations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Blankenship was convicted of conspiring to violate mine safety laws.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His release prompted Democrat Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the House Workforce Committee, to again urge passage of a languishing mine safety bill, which would make violations felonies with more serious jail time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Blankenship was acquitted of securities-related felony charges which would have carried a longer sentence.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Blankenship must still serve one year of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p>The<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/blankenship-massey-energys-former-ceo-comes-out-of-prison-tweeting-1494453030\"> Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;Mr. Blankenship provided a window into his incarceration, saying it was tough but in many ways easier to endure than his impoverished upbringing in West Virginia, where he didn&#8217;t have indoor plumbing. He said he spent 10 months at the Taft Correctional Institution outside Bakersfield, Calif., followed by a month at a halfway house in Las Vegas and then one month of home confinement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At Taft, he said he had to return to his room several times a day to be counted and couldn&#8217;t choose what to watch on TV, and the lights went out at 10 p.m. He could have visitors four days a month.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; &#8216;Not being able to go anywhere off a 4-acre site is not pleasant, no matter what the conditions,&#8217; he said. &#8216;It was not horrible.&#8217; &#8220;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Former Upper Big Branch miner Tommy Davis, who lost a son, brother and a nephew in the explosion, told The Associated Press that Blankenship should still be in prison.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He didn&#8217;t get what he deserved,&#8221; Davis said.<\/p>\n<p>The company that now owns Massey Energy announced in 2012 that the mine would be permanently sealed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/\">Let&#8217;s block ads!<\/a><\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\">(Why?)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}