Friday, April 01, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...4-2-'11
The family of William Lynch, who died in the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, has filed a lawsuit in Boone County Circuit Court seeking judgment for compensatory damages, punitive damages and other fees. Geneva Lynch, William Lynch’s widow, is demanding a trial by jury. The lawsuit claims Don Blankenship, Massey Energy’s CEO at the time, as well as the company’s board of directors, had knowledge of the unsafe manner in which the mine was operated. The lawsuit alleges William Lynch and six other miners who were on the mantrip survived the initial mine explosion, and the explosion and blast forces would never have reached the mantrip and caused injury to the seven men if the mine had been properly maintained and Massey had complied with all safety laws and regulations.
- Before noon Friday, a jury convicted Donald Good for the 1987 Huntington Mall rapes of Janet Johnson Smith and Rebecca Hobson. The women were kidnapped and taken elsewhere then repeatedly assaulted and raped. Jurors found Good guilty on 20 of the 22 charges against him. They exonerated him on two aggravated robbery charges. Although Good testified he was a delivery driver at the time and his job never took him to the area and he had never been to the Huntington Mall, forensic experts testified semen left on the victims' clothing matched the DNA of Good. Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles said, “If we would have had DNA in 1987, Glen Dale Woodall would’ve never been charged and I do regret that…the evidence that cleared Woodall is the evidence that convicted Donald Good.” Woodall eventually was awarded $1 million from the state for the wrongful conviction. Good was sentenced to two life terms, plus an additional 162 to 380 years. Good is eligible for parole in 222 years. In addition, he is currently serving a life sentence for a 1992 murder. He has 30 days to file an appeal.
- Dustin Shaver was sentenced Friday to two 25-year sentences to be served consecutively, making him eligible for parole in 12 1/2 years, for his role in a pair of 2009 armed robberies at the Marquee Cinemas in Huntington. In September, Shaver pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery. Kidnapping and conspiracy charges were dropped in exchange for his testimony in the trial of his best friend, Joshawa Clark, who was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. Clark worked at the Marquee Cinemas at the time of the robberies.
- Leslie Dewain Southers, 55 of Randleman, North Carolina, has been arrested on three felony charges of possession with intent to deliver and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Deputies say Southers had been bringing pills to Boone County for the last six or seven months and giving them to local residents who would then sell them. Deputies stopped his vehicle on Rt. 85 between Van and Madison Thursday night and found 400 pills in his car, including hydrocodone, alprozolam, carisprodal and others.
- Under legislation signed into law Friday by acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, insurance providers soon will be required to cover the cost of treatment for autistic children. The law requires insurance providers to cover children up to $30,000 a year the first three years of treatment and $2,000 a month every year after that. It does not apply to policies covering companies with 25 or fewer employees. Insurance companies have warned that a mandate could raise the cost of providing insurance to everyone. The mandate takes effect in 2012.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 10:58 PM 
