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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will be sentenced next year on a conviction of conspiring to violate safety rules at the mine where a deadly explosion occurred.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger on Thursday scheduled Blankenship's sentencing for April 6 in Charleston.
Blankenship was found guilty Dec. 3 of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety rules at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch Mine, which exploded in 2010 and killed 29 men. He faces up to one year in prison for the misdemeanor.
He was acquitted on felonies that could have netted him 30 years.
Berger also approved Blankenship's request to travel for the holidays.
His travel had been restricted to southern West Virginia; Pike County, Kentucky; and Washington, D.C.
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