The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has approved a motion giving more time for the Peanut Corporation of America criminal defendants to file petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc.
The new deadline for the filings is March 13.
The circuit court on Jan. 23 upheld all
Continue Reading Peanut butter defendants get more time to file for rehearing
Editor’s Note: The Food Safety News list of the year’s most significant news is compiled annually by our writers and editors. The list for 2017 is not led by any one or two blockbuster food safety stories, but it also won’t be quickly forgotten.
It was a year when there
Continue Reading Top food safety stories include regs, recalls, respects this year
The trial judge is as much on trial as the criminal defendants during an appeal, and a 97-minute session Tuesday in a federal appeals court in Atlanta was an illustration of how that system works. It came during oral arguments in the case of United States v. Michael Parnell, Mary
Continue Reading PCA appeal could impact future food safety prosecutions
The extended visiting hours for Memorial Day weekend at Federal Correction Institution (FCI) Marianna probably won’t be much consolidation for 43-year-old Mary Wilkerson, who was denied in her second request for release on bail.
She remains incarcerated at the western Florida panhandle federal prison. It’s about an hour from Wilkerson’s
Continue Reading Appellate judges won’t release Wilkerson while awaiting appeal
The conduct of the 2014 jury that convicted Peanut Corporation of America executives delayed sentencing for about year, but in its final analysis the district court found a new trial based on jury misconduct was not warranted.
Appellate attorneys for peanut broker Michael Parnell filed lengthy after-hours arguments Monday with
Continue Reading ‘Fry them’ comments in jury room could get Parnells a new trial
Samuel Lightsey, 52, the former manager of the now defunct Peanut Corporation of America processing plant in Blakely, GA, has moved into a Residential Re-entry Management facility in Atlanta a step toward his release from federal prison scheduled for Oct. 1.
Samuel Lightsey, left, and Stewart
Continue Reading First of PCA convicted executives begins prison release process
Prosecution and defense attorneys in the Peanut Corporation of America criminal case have found something they can agree upon. Both sides now say the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta needs to hear oral arguments before deciding if the District Court made any errors that should result in
Continue Reading Government responds to defense issues in PCA appeal
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has set Oct. 5, 2016, as the deadline for appellants Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell and Mary Wilkerson, to file briefs. Originally they were due on June 20. 
The trio is appealing their convictions and sentences in the Peanut Corporation of America
Continue Reading Appellants in PCA criminal case given more time to file briefs
Everybody seems to agree the 900 or so exhibits from a 2014 jury trial should be turned over in one form or another to the three defendants who are appealing their sentences and convictions in the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) criminal prosecution. Yet, it has not happened to the
Continue Reading Parnell-Wilkerson appeals held up over access to trial exhibits
For the first time since they were sentenced last September, brothers Stewart and Michael Parnell are in federal prisons. The elder brother, Stewart Parnell, 61, is the former owner and chief executive officer of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). The company’s Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter products killed at least nine and
Continue Reading Parnell brothers finally in prison for deadly peanut butter outbreak
