Prosecute Executives of Massey for Manslaughter

This is a petition to the prosecuting attorney in Raleigh County asking that she investigate and pro

Dear People who care about justice,

To:
Kristen Keller
Prosecuting Attorney
Raleigh County, West Virginia

We hereby ask that you prosecute Massey Energy and responsible executives for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 29 coal miners at the company's Upper Big Branch mine on April 5, 2010.

We believe there is sufficient evidence on the public record to bring such a prosecution -- including the fact that federal mine inspectors concluded in early in 2010 that senior Massey executives showed "reckless disregard" for worker safety at the mine.

Other prosecutors around the country have charged corporations and their executives with reckless disregard in connection with worker and consumer deaths.

In 1978, a Republican prosecutor in Indiana brought homicide charges against the Ford Motor Company in connection with the deaths of three teenage girls who were burned to death when their Ford Pinto was rear-ended.

Although Ford was ultimately acquitted, the criminal prosecution of Ford Motor Company reestablished an important precedent:

In certain cases involving human health and safety, corporations and their executives could be required to submit not only to the scrutiny and sanctions of traditional federal agencies, but to state criminal courts as well.

Ira Reiner, the District Attorney in Los Angles County in the 1980s, investigated every workplace death for a possible homicide prosecution.

Many such investigations resulted in criminal prosecutions of the corporate employer, responsible executives, or both.

The involuntary manslaughter statute is applied in West Virginia against reckless drivers who inadvertently kill others.

A corporation that recklessly operates a workplace -- and workers die as a result -- should be similarly prosecuted.

Thank you for your serious consideration of this request to prosecute Massey and the executives responsible for the deaths of the 29 coal miners.

As you know, the statute of limitations for this case is one year.

You have until April 5, 2011.

Please prosecute the case.

Let a jury decide.

[Your name]