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No verdict yet in Blankenship trial; jury returns Thursday

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The 12-member jury considering three criminal charges against former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship did not reach a verdict during a full day of deliberations Wednesday.

The jury did ask U.S. District Judge Irene Berger if it could “listen to the CDs,” which are the recordings Blankenship made of his own phone calls in his office. Federal prosecutors placed more than a dozen of those calls into evidence during the trial.

Blankenship, left, and his lead attorney Bill Taylor exit the federal courthouse in Charleston Wednesday.
Blankenship, left, and his lead attorney Bill Taylor exit the federal courthouse in Charleston Wednesday.

Blankenship, 65, is charged with conspiring to break mine safety laws at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County and then lying about the company’s stance on safety in a statement released a few days after the April 5, 2010 explosion at UBB that killed 29 miners.

Blankenship’s lead attorney Bill Taylor told MetroNews when leaving the federal courthouse in Charleston Wednesday evening he’s reading nothing special into the jury’s request.

“They want to listen to the recordings instead of depending on the transcripts,” he said.

The recordings introduced include conversations Blankenship had with former Massey coal group President Chris Blanchard about running more coal at UBB. Other recordings were more personal with Blankenship speaking to a woman he had been dating about his struggles with the Massey Board compensation committee concerning his pay.

Blankenship’s attorneys asked late last week if it could play some of the recordings to the jury where Blankenship was talking about safety issues. They wanted to introduce them as part of the cross-examination of FBI Special Agent James Lafferty. Judge Berger eventually ruled the defense could try to bring in the recordings in their own case. The defense rested its case Monday without calling any witnesses to the stand.

There was a brief discussion Wednesday evening after the jury was dismissed on exactly how the recordings would be played. Judge Berger said she would check with the court’s IT staff.





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