"Six years after 29 miners were killed in a West Virginia coal dust explosion, the man who ran the mining company like a fiefdom -- a coal baron and power broker who earned millions of dollars a year -- will learn on Wednesday whether he goes to prison.

Donald Blankenship, who presided over his coalfields from a mountaintop castle, faces as long as a year in prison and a $250,000 fine over his conviction, the first in U.S. history for a mining CEO of a workplace safety crime. In December, jurors found the former chief executive officer of Massey Energy had ignored safety standards. On Wednesday a federal judge, the daughter of a miner, will sentence him.

“The message this sentence will carry will be heard loudly and clearly in boardrooms across the U.S.,” said Patrick McGinley, a West Virginia University law professor who was part of a group that investigated the blast. “The CEO of any company that fails to adequately protect its workers can be sent to prison just like any other offender.”"

Jef Feeley and George Hohmann report for Bloomberg April 6, 2016. [2]

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Blankenship Trial Portal (Charleston Gazette-Mail) [3]