Supreme Court leaves Don Blankenship conviction in place

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it won’t review the conviction of former coal CEO Don Blankenship, who was convicted of conspiring to violate safety standards at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine before the 2010 explosion that killed 29 men. The justices said Monday they would not take the case of the former CEO of Massey Energy who spent a year in prison following his conviction stemming from the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in 40 years. That leaves in place lower court decisions rejecting his efforts to get his misdemeanor conviction thrown out. As is typical, the high court did not explain its decision and denied the case among a long list of others. Monday is the first day of the court’s new term.