Ex-coal CEO starts prison sentence

Former coal boss Don Blankenship has started his one-year prison sentence for conspiring to break mine safety and health laws.

Blankenship, the former head of Massey Energy Corp., reported to a California federal prison late Thursday, hours after a federal appeals court declined to let him remain free while he appeals his conviction, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.

{mosads}The prison has low- and minimum-security sections. It was chosen due to its proximity to a home Blankenship owns in Nevada.

He was convicted last year on charges stemming from a years-long investigation into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia, in which 29 miners were killed after an explosion that trapped them underground.

In the time between his April sentencing and reporting to prison, Blankenship took a prominent role in the public spotlight, including attending a rally in West Virginia for Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Prosecutors argued that Blankenship micromanaged the mine and prioritized production goals above compliance. It was the first time a coal executive was convicted on charges related to mine safety and health rules.

Blankenship’s legal team is appealing the conviction, saying the judge in the case improperly blocked them from presenting certain evidence and cross-examining a witness, among other errors.

He released an open letter before reporting to prison Thursday, thanking his supporters and repeating his contention that the Upper Big Branch disaster was not caused by any human error.

“You can be confident that no coal company ever focused more on safety, paid more wages or did more for the communities than Massey,” Blankenship wrote, calling his prosecution an “indescribable injustice.”

Though the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously rejected Blankenship’s emergency motion to stay out of jail, his formal appeal is still working its way through the litigation process.