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APA 7th Edition.
Journal of Critical Incidents, Volume 10
THE SOCIETY FOR CASE RESEARCH
From Peanuts to Prison: Applying Ethical Theories of
Decision-making
Rickey E. Richardson, Tarleton State University
Kyle Post, Tarleton State University
H. Kevin Fulk, Tarleton State University
This critical incident was prepared by the authors and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. The views
represented here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Case Research. The
views are based on professional judgment. Copyright © 2017 by the Society for Case Research and the authors. No
part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the Society
for Case Research.
Introduction
Mary Wilkerson started as a receptionist and worked her way up to become quality assurance manager
at a peanut processing plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) (Grand Jury Indictment,
2013, p. 4). The plant produced industrial peanut butter and peanut base which were used by major
manufacturers of consumer products containing peanuts (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 2). Mary’s
responsibilities in the process included product safety testing and reporting (Grand Jury Indictment,
2013, p. 36). As a consequence of her poor management decisions, along with the poor decisions of
others, contaminated peanut products were manufactured and distributed by PCA. The contaminated
products led to widespread serious illnesses and deaths (The United States Department of Justice, 2015).
On September 19, 2014, Mary’s life changed forever when she was convicted of obstruction of justice
and sentenced to serve 60 months in prison followed by two years of supervised probation (The United
States Department of Justice, 2015).
Background
PCA owned and operated three processing plants located in Georgia, Texas and Virginia (Grand Jury
Indictment, 2013, p. 1). Total sales for the privately held company were approximately $30 million
during 2007-2008, the last fiscal year of operations (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 2). Stewart Parnell
was president and an owner of PCA (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 2).
After starting as a receptionist at PCA’s plant in Georgia, Mary was promoted to office manager and
then quality assurance manager (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 4). As quality assurance manager, she
was responsible for the testing of the plant’s products to ensure they were not contaminated with
bacteria or other substances which could cause illness and death (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 36).
The plant Mary worked at processed peanuts into peanut butter and peanut base which were then
shipped to major manufacturers of consumer products (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 2). The
manufacturers used the peanut products in foods such as peanut butter crackers (Grand Jury Indictment,
2013, p. 20).
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Journal of Critical Incidents, Volume 10
The production of peanut products by PCA highlights the dangers posed by salmonella contamination.
In the federal indictment in which Mary, her supervisor and Stewart Parnell were accused of crimes
related to their work for PCA, it was observed that, “People typically ingest salmonella through food. . .
Salmonella infections can be life-threatening, especially for infants and young children, pregnant
women and their unborn babies, older adults, and other persons with weakened immune systems”
(Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 10).
To help ensure their products are free of contamination, peanut processors sample their production and
have independent laboratories test for salmonella and other contaminants (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013,
p. 10). Although Mary was responsible for product testing at the plant, she knew from emails she had
received from Parnell, as well as conversations with her supervisor, that the company lost money
whenever there were delays due to testing; or a batch had to be discarded because of a lab report
indicating contamination (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 34). In one particular email received by
Mary, her supervisor and others, Parnell wrote:
I am not sure anyone down there quite understands how SERIOUS this is. . .these are
not peanuts you are throwing away every day. . . IT IS MONEY. . . IT IS MONEY. . . IT
IS MONEY. . . IT IS GOD DAMN MONEY THAT WE DO NOT HAVE BECAUSE
OF HOW LONG I HAVE ALLOWED you, your crew and everyone down there to let
THIS GO ON. (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 34)
Under such pressure from Parnell, Mary allowed shipments of peanut paste to be sent to customers
without testing, falsified test results, and concealed use of foreign product for customers requiring USAonly ingredients (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 36). She also created a plan to divide the processing
plant into two areas to obtain separate inspection audits in order to conceal problems (Grand Jury
Indictment, 2013, p. 40).
Where was the FDA in all of this? According to the Office of Inspector General of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services (2010), it is the responsibility of the FDA to safeguard “the
Nation’s food supply by ensuring that all ingredients used in food are safe and that food is free of
disease-causing organisms, chemicals, or other harmful substances” (p. 1). To help fulfill its
responsibilities, the “FDA inspects food facilities to ensure food safety and compliance with
regulations” (p. 8). However, the number of actual inspections performed by the FDA during the time
Mary worked at PCA decreased substantially (p. ii).
Consequences
All seemed to be going along just fine until a salmonella outbreak began in 2009. During this
nationwide outbreak, more than 22,000 people were infected and nine were killed (The United States
Department of Justice, 2015). Through its investigative processes, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) identified the source of the outbreak as originating in contaminated products
produced by PCA (The United States Department of Justice, 2015). After the outbreak was discovered,
the FDA inspected Mary’s plant (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 13). During the investigation, Mary
was less than truthful with the investigators (Grand Jury Indictment, 2013, p. 50).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also conducted an investigation (The United States
Department of Justice, 2015). The FBI’s investigation resulted in the prosecution of Mary, her
supervisor, Parnell, and others (The United States Department of Justice, 2015). Mary was found guilty
of obstruction of justice for lying to federal agents and sentenced to serve five years in prison followed
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Journal of Critical Incidents, Volume 10
by two years of probation (The United States Department of Justice, 2015). Her supervisor pled guilty
to conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and the sale of misbranded and adulterated food; and was sentenced
to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release (The United States Department of
Justice, 2015). Parnell was convicted of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, the introduction of
misbranded food into interstate commerce, the introduction of adulterated food, and obstruction of
justice (The United States Department of Justice, 2015). He was sentenced to serve 28 years in prison
followed by three years of probation (The United States Department of Justice, 2015).
If you were an advisor to Mary during her time as a PCA employee, how could you have helped her to
avoid her present situation? What specific actions would you have advised her to take in her role as
manager? How would your advice have changed if you applied different ethical theories?
References
Grand Jury Indictment. (2013). United States of America v. Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, Samuel
Lightsey, and Mary Wilkerson, Defendants. Retrieved from:
https://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/61201322111426350488.pdf
Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2010).
FDA inspections of domestic food facilities. Retrieved from: http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei02-08-00080.pdf
The United States Department of Justice. (2015). Former peanut company president receives largest
criminal sentence in food safety case; Two others also sentenced for their roles in salmonellatainted peanut product outbreak. Retrieved from: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-peanutcompany-president-receives-largest-criminal-sentence-food-safety-case-two
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