28 years for salmonella: Peanut exec gets groundbreaking sentence

Peanut Corp. of America CEO Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his part in a massive fraud and conspiracy ring resulting in the deaths of nine people and sickening hundreds more.

A south Georgia jury convicted Parnell of 72 counts of fraud, conspiracy and the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce.

CNN reports the sentence is the toughest penalty ever for a corporate executive in a food poisoning outbreak. Parnell is 61 and unless he wins an appeal, he will have to serve out most of his term.

The 2008-09 salmonella outbreak killed nine people, sickened at least 714 others nationwide and resulted in a huge food recall.

Also involved in the conspiracy, Parnell’s brother and food broker, Michael Parnell, received a 20-year sentence, and the plant's quality assurance manager, Mary Wilkerson, was sentenced to five years.

Read more from CNN.