Stewart Parnell, the former president of the Peanut Corporation of America, is today serving a 28-year federal prison sentence for his role in the 2008–2009 salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 700 people and killed nine. He is 71 years old and incarcerated at the low-security federal correctional facility in Butner, North Carolina, with a projected release date in 2038. In August 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied his final habeas corpus petition, ending a six-year effort to overturn his conviction.1Food Safety News. Six Years of Appeals Ends With the Parnell Brothers Still in Federal Prison
Where He Is Incarcerated
Parnell is housed at the federal correctional complex in Butner, North Carolina, a low-security facility. His projected release date is 2038, when he will be 84. His younger brother Michael Parnell, convicted alongside him, is incarcerated at the same facility and is scheduled for release in 2031.1Food Safety News. Six Years of Appeals Ends With the Parnell Brothers Still in Federal Prison
The Sentence He Is Serving
On September 21, 2015, U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands sentenced Parnell to 28 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. It remains the longest sentence ever imposed in a U.S. food safety case.2Mother Jones. Food Producer Prison Sentence Judge Sands told the courtroom that the defendants “broke the trust society places in food company executives to assure the public is safe.”3Early County News. PCA’s Stewart Parnell Sentenced to 28 Years
A jury in Albany, Georgia had convicted Parnell on September 19, 2014, on 67 of 76 counts after a 34-day trial. The convictions included conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, introduction of adulterated and misbranded food into interstate commerce, and obstruction of justice.3Early County News. PCA’s Stewart Parnell Sentenced to 28 Years4Food-Safety.com. Judge Rules PCA Defendants Will Not Pay Salmonella Outbreak Victims5FindLaw. $12M Settlement Approved in Peanut Salmonella Case
What He Was Convicted Of
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium to peanut butter and peanut paste produced at PCA’s Blakely, Georgia plant, ultimately linking 714 illnesses across 46 states and Canada to the contaminated products, along with roughly 200 hospitalizations and nine deaths.6National Center for Biotechnology Information. Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Infections Associated With Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter-Containing Products Because PCA sold peanut ingredients to hundreds of other food manufacturers, the contamination triggered the recall of nearly 4,000 products, one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history at that point.7USDA Economic Research Service. Peanut Processing and Sales Hold Steady After Peanut Product Recalls
PCA’s own internal testing had identified salmonella in its products on 12 separate occasions between 2007 and 2009. Instead of halting production, the company engaged in what regulators called “lab shopping”: when a batch tested positive, PCA would send samples to a different laboratory, and if the retest came back negative, the product shipped. Employees also fabricated Certificates of Analysis falsely stating that shipments were pathogen-free.8U.S. Department of Justice. Former Officials and Broker of Peanut Corporation of America Indicted
Internal emails introduced at trial were central to the government’s case. In one, Parnell instructed his plant manager Samuel Lightsey to ship products that had tested positive, writing: “turn them loose.” In others, Parnell complained about the cost of testing delays, citing the loss of “huge amounts of” money. On January 12, 2009, weeks after the outbreak had been publicly linked to his company, Parnell emailed employees insisting: “we have never found any salmonella at all.”9GovInfo. The Salmonella Outbreak: The Continued Failure to Protect the Food Supply
FDA inspectors at the Blakely plant documented roach infestations near production areas, mold and mildew, a leaking roof that admitted rainwater, and inadequate ventilation. A second PCA facility in Plainview, Texas, ordered closed in February 2009, had dead mice in a crawl space above processing equipment and had operated for years without a license or health inspections.10CNN. Salmonella Outbreak11CIDRAP. FDA Details Mess at Texas Plant Tied to Salmonella Cases
Six Years of Appeals, Now Exhausted
Parnell spent six years after sentencing challenging his conviction. In September 2019, he filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 arguing that his defense attorneys were ineffective for failing to seek a change of venue away from Albany, Georgia. The defense had chosen Albany believing it would be the “friendliest venue,” but Parnell’s appeal argued that the surrounding region, which produces 60 percent of America’s peanuts, was saturated with prejudicial pretrial publicity. During jury selection, 60 percent of prospective jurors said they already knew about the case. The appeal also revealed that at least two seated jurors knew about the nine deaths, which both sides had agreed to keep out of the trial itself, and that jurors allegedly used phrases like “fry them” during deliberations.12Food Safety News. Parnell Brothers Begin the Sixth Year of Seeking Early Release
After a two-day evidentiary hearing in May 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Q. Langstaff recommended denying the petition. Judge Sands adopted that recommendation and denied the motion on September 23, 2022.13Food Safety News. Stewart Parnell Looks for Better Habeas in Atlanta Parnell appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, which held oral arguments in September 2024.
On August 11, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit denied the habeas petitions of both Parnell brothers. Circuit Judge Ed Carnes wrote that the decision not to seek a change of venue was a “deliberate” and “strategic” choice by the defense attorneys, not a failure of competence.1Food Safety News. Six Years of Appeals Ends With the Parnell Brothers Still in Federal Prison14Courthouse News Service. Salmonella Convictions Upheld The ruling exhausted Parnell’s post-conviction remedies.
What Happened to His Co-Defendants
Four other people were charged alongside Parnell in the 76-count federal indictment unsealed on February 20, 2013. Their sentences and current status:
- Michael Parnell, Stewart’s brother and a food broker, received 20 years and remains at Butner with a projected 2031 release.
- Mary Wilkerson, PCA’s quality assurance manager, was convicted on one count of obstruction of justice for lying to an FDA investigator and received five years. She was released from an Atlanta re-entry center on February 2, 2020, subject to two years of supervised federal probation.15Food Safety News. Quality Control Officer for Peanut Corp of America Freed From Federal Custody
- Samuel Lightsey, a former plant manager who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, received three years.
- Daniel Kilgore, another former plant manager who pleaded guilty and testified for the government, received six years.16Reuters. Former Peanut Plant Managers Get Prison Time in Salmonella Outbreak
With the Eleventh Circuit’s August 2025 ruling, both Parnell brothers have run out of standard avenues to challenge their convictions. Barring executive clemency or an unusual grant of compassionate release, Stewart Parnell is expected to remain in federal custody at Butner until 2038.