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Coal groups worried about executive liability in ex-CEO case

Coal groups worried about executive liability in ex-CEO case | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - In a Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 file photo, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, left, walks out of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse after the jury deliberated for a fifth full day in his trial, in Charleston, W.Va. Coal industry groups are concerned that the conviction of Blankenship could put other coal executives at risk of criminal conspiracy charges. Coal Associations from Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia shared concerns in a brief Tuesday, July 5, 2016 with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.(AP Photo/Chris Tilley, File)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Coal industry groups are concerned that the conviction of former coal executive Don Blankenship could expose other industry leaders to criminal conspiracy charges.

Coal Associations from Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia shared concerns in a brief Tuesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering Blankenship’s appeal.

Blankenship is serving a one-year sentence for conspiring to wilfully violate mine safety standards at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch coal mine, which exploded in 2010, killing 29 men.

The coal groups expressed worry that mine safety citations could be used to hold anyone at a coal company liable for criminal conspiracy in the event of future violations.

They wrote that their brief isn’t intended to support either side, or say whether Blankenship’s conviction should be overturned.

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