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 Stewart Parnell, 61, who once oversaw Peanut Corporation of America,
and his brother, Michael Parnell, 56, who was a food broker on the
company's behalf, were convicted on federal conspiracy charges in
September 2014 for knowingly shipping salmonella-tainted peanuts to
customers.
Contamination at the company's plant in Blakely, Georgia, led to one
of the largest food recalls in U.S. history and forced the company
into liquidation.
U.S. District Judge Louis Sands gave Michael Parnell 20 years in
prison. Mary Wilkerson, 41, a former quality control manager at the
plant who was found guilty of obstruction, was sentenced to five
years in prison.
Stewart Parnell faced life in prison and his brother faced about 24
years.
The Justice Department described Stewart Parnell's sentence as the
largest in a food safety case.
Before the judge issued the sentences, Stewart Parnell said; “This
has been a seven-year nightmare for me and my family. I’m truly,
truly sorry for what’s happened.”
At Monday's hearing in Albany, Georgia, relatives of several victims
described their suffering and asked for stiff sentences.
Jeff Almer, of Brainerd, Minnesota, said his mother, Shirley Almer,
died after eating tainted peanut butter in 2009, one of 714 people
to fall ill.
"My mother died a painful death from salmonella, and the look of
horror on her face as she died shall always haunt me," he said.
"I just hope they ship you all to jail," Almer said.
Stewart Parnell's attorney, Tom Bondurant Jr. vowed to appeal,
contending that the sentences were too harsh. Under federal rules,
the defendants will have to serve at least 85 percent of their
sentences before being eligible for parole.
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"Given the ages of these two men, this is a life sentence,"
Bondurant said.
During the trial, prosecutors said the brothers covered up the
presence of salmonella in their company's peanut products for years,
even creating fake certificates showing they were uncontaminated
despite laboratory results showing otherwise.
The Parnells have said they never knowingly endangered customers.
"No one thought that the products were unsafe or could harm
someone," said Stewart Parnell's daughter, Grey Parnell. "Dad
brought them home to us. We all ate it."
(Additional reporting by David Beasley in Atlanta and Letitia Stein
in Tampa, Florida; Editing by David Adams, Lisa Shumaker and Sharon
Bernstein)
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