former massey energy ceo don blankenship, who is serving a one-year sentence in federal prison for violating mine safety laws, is issuing a highly unusual personal defense this week, using a 67-page booklet to declare that he is an <u+201c>american political prisoner.<u+201d> <u+201c>the story is a little complex, and telling it from prison without a computer and without much documentation has not been easy,<u+201d> mr. blankenship wrote. <u+201c>but it is a story that americans need to know.<u+201d> mr. blankenship, 66 years old, was convicted last december on one misdemeanor count following a five-year investigation into the 2010 explosion at massey<u+2019>s upper big branch mine that killed 29 miners in the worst u.s. coal mining disaster in four decades. a jury found mr. blankenship guilty of conspiring to willfully violate federal mine safety laws, while acquitting him of felony counts of securities fraud and lying to investors to boost massey<u+2019>s stock price following the accident. <u+201c>you can be sure i am fully innocent,<u+201d> mr. blankenship wrote. <u+201c>the real conspiracies were the government<u+2019>s coverup of the ubb truth and my prosecution.<u+201d> mr. blankenship began serving his term at the taft correctional institution in taft, calif., in may. he couldn<u+2019>t be reached to comment<u+00a0>tuesday. a section of the booklet attributed to his lawyers argues that prosecutors manufactured their case against mr. blankenship despite a lack of evidence linking him to any criminal misconduct at massey. mr. blankenship<u+2019>s lawyers argue that while he was charged with conspiring to willfully violate mine safety laws, prosecutors failed to identify co-conspirators. his lawyers also argue that no citations were issued at ubb for willful conduct during the alleged conspiracy. his lawyers are preparing for an<u+00a0>oct. 26<u+00a0>hearing before the fourth circuit court of appeals in richmond, va. a spokesman for the u.s. attorney<u+2019>s office in charleston, w.va., which prosecuted mr. blankenship, couldn<u+2019>t immediately be reached to comment. in the booklet, mr. blankenship alleges that longstanding animosity of democrats and unions toward him fueled his prosecution, and he traces the trouble all the way back to the 15-month strike by the united mine workers of america in the mid-1980s at a massey mine in rawl, w.va. the strike, in which a coal truck driver was killed, ultimately led to the opening of more nonunion mines in west virginia. on a more current note, he criticizes democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton for saying in may while on a tour of west virginia coal country that he <u+201c>got off easy<u+201d> with a one-year prison sentence. mr. blankenship has long argued that the ubb explosion was the result of an unforeseeable inundation of natural gas, and he does so again in the booklet. federal and state investigators concluded that a spark from a poorly maintained cutting machine caused a methane fireball, which in turn set off a powerful explosion that fed off coal dust the company had failed to clean up. davitt mcateer, who led the state investigation into the ubb accident, said evidence, including more than 1,800 samples taken after the explosion, pointed to coal dust. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not surprising that he<u+2019>s engaging in a lengthy effort to justify himself,<u+201d> mr. mcateer said. <u+201c>i know he wants to hold on to his theory but you would have to say that the facts overrule that.<u+201d> mr. blankenship said he plans to mail 250,000 copies of the booklet over the next few days, although it isn<u+2019>t clear who the intended recipients are. the book will also be available online. he closes out the booklet by saying <u+201c>happy trails<u+201d> to all those who have supported massey. write to kris maher at kris.maher@wsj.com corrections & amplifications: a coal truck driver was killed during the strike in the 1980s. an earlier version of this article said a replacement miner was killed. (oct. 5, 2016)
convicted ex-massey ceo calls self <u+2018>political prisoner<u+2019> in booklet    - wsj
kris maher