Stewart Parnell has been sentenced to serve 28 years in prison. He is a former food executive who played a role in the 2008-2009 salmonella outbreak that led to nine deaths due to contaminated peanuts, according to The Associated Press.
Relatives of those who died in the outbreak applauded as Parnell received the sentence from U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands on Monday. Parnell, 61, was represented by defense attorney Tom Bondurant, who said the 28-year term is a death sentence for the former Peanut Corporation of America executive.
"I want to apologize to all of our consumers," he said in court Monday, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The long sentence is a rarity in a food poisoning case, according to The Guardian. "This has been a seven-year nightmare for me and my family. I'm truly, truly sorry for what's happened," Parnell said. His brother, Michael Parnell, was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevent official said that the outbreak made more than 700 people in the U.S. sick. The outbreak led to one of the biggest food recalls in American history.
