This is Part I of a three-part series marking the 10th anniversary of the historic sentencing in the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) criminal case.
Witness to Justice
Ten years ago, on Sept. 21, 2015, I sat in a federal courtroom in Albany, GA, to witness what many believed would
Continue Reading Ten years later: How the PCA sentencing changed food safety justice — or didn’t
Mary Wilkerson, quality control officer for the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America, has been released from a federal prison in Tallahassee, FL, to a half-way house in Atlanta.
Wilkerson, 46, has also had her full release date moved up by one month to Feb. 4, 2020. Supervision of her release
Continue Reading Former PCA quality control officer Wilkerson moves into half-way house
Mary Wilkerson, the unlucky 45-year old former Peanut Corporation of America quality manager for control is getting out of the federal prison in Tallahassee, FL.
Wilkerson is serving five years for a jury conviction of obstruction of justice. She is not eligible for parole. Her release date is March 10,
Continue Reading PCA’s victims learn the next stop for Mary Wilkerson is a Macon, GA half-way house
Petitions from the Parnell brothers for an appellate rehearing of their criminal convictions and sentences were denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta on June 11. Further, their petitions for Rehearing En Banc were also rejected as no active judge asked to poll the
Continue Reading 11th Circuit won’t hear or rehear anymore Parnell appeals
Samuel Lightsey, the one-time operations manager for the Peanut Corporation of America’s processing plant in Blakely, GA, is out of prison with a new job at a company equipping the peanut industry.
Another key figure in the PCA Salmonella saga,
Continue Reading Wilkerson seeks release on bail as Lightsey gains his freedom
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
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
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
The federal judge who has presided over the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) criminal case will conduct his likely last hearing in the case today, and the victims of the 2008-09 Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak are waiting for his restitution order. 
Continue Reading Restitution Hearing Today for PCA’s Mostly Absent Criminal Defendants
Brothers Stewart and Michael Parnell will not be released on bond pending the outcome of their appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta ruled. Judges for the Circuit, however, did on Jan. 8 grant the Parnell brothers more time to file their appellant briefs. The
Continue Reading Release Pending Appeal is Denied for Parnell Brothers
