Journalist Walter Lippman said, “In a free society the state does not administer the affairs of men. It administers justice among men who conduct their own affairs.”
Don Blankenship’s “affairs” were the operations of Massey Energy coal mines. He was a hard-charging boss whose managerial style was to will and coerce underlings to levels of peak production and profitability.
But along the way, as U.S. District Judge Irene Berger said from the bench during Blankenship’s sentencing Wednesday, he “created a culture of non-compliance (of safety regulations) at Upper Big Branch.” That dust-filled mine exploded six years ago this week, taking with it the lives of 29 miners.
Blankenship was never criminally charged with the deaths of those miners, but the presence of family members in the courtroom throughout last year’s trial was a constant reminder of what the case was ultimately about. Would there be any sort of reckoning for the tragedy?
Ultimately, the jury could only find Blankenship guilty of conspiracy to willfully violate mine safety standards, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $250,000 fine. Judge Berger levied the full term saying the sentence “reflects the seriousness of the offense.”
Legally it does, because it’s the maximum allowable by law, but the outcome of the trial, the verdicts and the sentence do not necessarily satisfy the public’s demand for an accounting. Several family members of UBB victims shouted at Blankenship as he left the courthouse. One yelled, “All I got is a goddamn tombstone.”
For his part, Blankenship did apologize for the tragedy. “My main point is wanting to express sorrow to the families and everyone for what happened,” he said during his sentencing. However, he added later, “I am not guilty of a crime.”
In fact, he IS guilty. The jury determined that after listening to 27 witnesses over 24 days and deliberating for 50 hours. Again, legally, he was convicted of willfully violating mine safety standards, but that conclusion leads inevitably to this question: Would UBB have exploded if Blankenship had not committed those violations?
Blankenship was never charged directly with the explosion, but several investigations determined that safety violations at UBB caused the disaster.
However, the purpose of the lengthy federal investigation and the trial were about applying the rule of law. The U.S. Attorney’s Office brought charges, a jury of Blankenship’s peers reviewed the evidence in a setting where the defendant had a presumption of innocence and the government had to clear a high standard. A verdict was rendered and sentence administered in open court.
Blankenship’s affairs have been rightfully adjudicated. The people should take solace in that, even as they mourn the loss of 29 lives at Upper Big Branch.