A federal judge on Monday delayed by nearly three months the criminal trial of former Massey Energy Co Donald Blankenship on charges he violated federal mine safety laws prior to a 2010 West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 miners.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger in Beckley, West Virginia, delayed the jury trial to April 20 from Jan. 26, court records show. The delay gives Blankenship more time to mount a defense.
Blankenship, who led Massey from 2000 to 2010, pleaded not guilty in November to four criminal counts, including conspiring to violate mine safety standards, in connection with the April 5, 2010 blast at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine. He faces a maximum 31 years in prison if convicted.
The blast was the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades. Massey was bought in 2011 by Alpha Natural Resources Inc for about $7 billion. Alpha Natural was not accused of wrongdoing. The now-closed Upper Big Branch mine was located about 40 miles south of Charleston.
The case is U.S. v. Blankenship, U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, No. 14-cr-00244.
