After a mixed verdict in the criminal case against the former coal mining executive Donald L. Blankenship, United States attorney Booth Goodwin said on Monday, December 28, 2015, that he would resign and return to private practice by the end of the year, according to WTRF.
Based from the news release on the official United States Department of Justice website, Goodwin served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's office since January 2001 and was appointed by the President Obama as the head of the office since May 2010. During his term as a federal prosecutor, Goodwin had personally secured convictions in almost every type of case that his office handled, with many of them being matters of regional and national significance, according to the release.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia," Goodwin said in the press release. "The unparalleled success of this office during my tenure is a tribute to and a result of the extraordinary dedication of the lawyers, staff and law enforcement personnel with whom I have been privileged to serve," Goodwin continued. "Their commitment to the safety and security of this nation and West Virginia has been and will continue to be an inspiration."
The jury delivered a mixed verdict in the case of Massey Energy's former Chief Executive, Donald L. Blankenship who, according to The New York Times, was prosecuted in connection with the death of 29 mine workers in the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010, and is one of the most prominent executives of the coal-mining industry prosecuted for crime related for mining deaths at this level, especially in West Virginia, a state which thrives off of the local coal industry.
While Blankenship was convicted of conspiring to violate US federal mine safety standards, he was exonerated of three felony charges involving securities fraud and false statements. Mr. Blankenship was convicted of a misdemeanor charge which carries a penalty of a maximum of one year in prison but was judged not guilty for felony charges that would have had a penalty of decades in prison.
