IT'S NOT JUST THE WALL STREET MOTU

I heartily agree with Atrios that some people involved in the collapse of MF Global need to go to jail and I think a LOT of other banksters should be in jail for mostly causing the Great Recession.

However, there are other situations, like the W. Virginia coal mine disaster at Upper Big Branch, where prison time should be mandatory:

Probe targets foremen in 2010 W.Va. mine disaster

West Virginia mine safety officials issued 253 violations in their investigation of the Upper Big Branch disaster and targeted at least two foremen, saying their failures may have exacerbated the unsafe conditions underground before the explosion that killed 29 men.
By VICKI SMITH; Associated Press
Published: 02/23/12 7:39 am | Updated: 02/23/12 11:50 am

The state's conclusions about the cause of the explosion largely mirror those of previous reports: The machine cutting through sandstone to reach the coal created the heat or spark that methane needed to ignite. Broken water sprayers then failed to stop the fireball from turning into a much more powerful series of explosions fueled by coal dust.

The report said foremen Ricky J. Foster and Terry W. Moore repeatedly failed to clean conveyor belts and apply rock dust to certain areas in the mine from December 2009 until the explosion on April 5, 2010. Mine operators use pulverized limestone to cover and neutralize highly explosive coal dust.

This is what those most affected think:

Clay Mullins, whose brother Rex died in the mine, said he wants to see more prosecutions.


"They need to go all the way to the top," he said - as high as former CEO Don Blankenship, who was known for micromanaging his mines and required managers to fax him production reports.

"He run them from behind his desk, wherever he was at," Mullins said. "He knew exactly what was going on at that mine, as well as all the other top officials did."

Jack Bowden, who lost his son-in-law Steve "Smiley" Harrah in the disaster, called the criminal charges against May good news. He, too, is eager to see where else prosecutors look.

"I hope he goes up the ladder and I hope he goes down the ladder," he said.

"I'll tell ya, guys, it was murder," Bowden added. "... Don Blankenship should be held accountable for it."