Book Examines Legal Fights Surrounding Blankenship

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: WCHS



A new book is taking aim at former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and his time as the head of the coal company.

Author Lawrence Leamer, who has written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, and Playboy, was in Charleston this weekend to promote his new book "The Pursuit of Justice," which details the many legal controversies Massey Energy was involved in while Blankenship was CEO.

(...)

Leamer said he feels the investigation has been solid and that an indictment of Blankenship could be a possible outcome.

"I think if Blankenship was indicted and convicted, and sent to prison it would be the most positive thing that has happened in this political system in years,” Leamer said. “There is something wrong with the political system from the top to bottom."

Read more: http://wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/130516_16120.shtml

[freshwest]

1. My gut feeling is that he deserves jail time. But I'm not an attorney. Hope something comes of it.

People are dead because of his actions, quite a few. This could be the turning of the tide on CEOs getting away with this and returning respect to workers...

[tech3149]

4. Your gut feeling is too kind by an order of magnitude

He and his ilk have been instrumental in the long term decimation of the region and the sacrificing of those who have lived there for generations.
It wasn't bad enough to bury workers in deep mines, now they have to poison everyone nearby and downriver with mountaintop removal.
The sad part is that the elected officials are bought and paid for by coal and the people are sold the idea that coal is good for the state.
I don't recall the source or statistics but it was something like for every dollar of income from resource sales the local economy lost five dollars of potential income.
Sorry fact is that W VA has been a sacrifice zone since the 1850's They've been poisoning and killing people for so long there no question about whether they care or not.

[Berlum]

5. Mountain top-removal = Mastectomy of Mother Earth for Profit & Pollution (R)

[alp227]

2. What a fitting photo rigth there.

And the book is actually called "The Price of Justice" prt amazon.com

[tech3149]

3. I live in PA but I know a bit about W VA

Blankenship is just another cog in the wheel of the extraction industry. Taking him down would be easy in a just world but W VA is not a just world.
I will say that putting him on the docket will put a lump in the throat of the other politicos that are owned by the extraction industries.
But that's a really steep hill to climb with 200 pounds on your back.