"Not Guilty"
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https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/20/us/william-husel-ohio-doctor-murder-trial/index.html
The Ohio doctor accused of overprescribing fentanyl to his critically ill patients and hastening their deaths was found not guilty of 14 counts of murder on Wednesday.
William Husel and his attorney embraced at the defense table after the 14th and final not guilty verdict was read in court. He was subsequently discharged from the courtroom.
The decision comes just over a week after jurors began deliberating and days after they said they were at an impasse and could not reach a unanimous verdict, leading Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook to instruct them to continue their deliberations.
Husel faced 14 counts of murder as prosecutors said he purposely administered excessive doses of fentanyl that caused or sped up the deaths of patients in the intensive care unit from 2015 to 2018. All of the counts also included the lesser charge of attempted murder.
"If you hasten a person's death, even if their death is as sure as the sun is going to rise in the morning, if you hasten that along, you have caused their death under the eyes of the law," Franklin County prosecutor David Zeyen said in closing arguments.
Baez argued prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the doses actually hastened the patients' deaths or that Husel purposely intended to kill the patients.
The trial began in February, with over 50 witnesses testifying for the prosecution, including doctors, nurses and administrative employees of Mount Carmel Hospital West, where Husel worked as the night ICU physician.
Family members detailed the stories of their loved ones declining quickly once at the hospital, as well as their experiences with Husel and the ICU. Experts also told the court the large fentanyl doses Husel gave to patients caused their deaths and were intended to accelerate the dying process.
Despite the accusations, Husel's former colleagues testified that he was a wonderful doctor who was hardworking, fought to save people's lives, was helpful to everyone in the ICU unit and was always there to teach and explain.
Husel's defense called just one witness, Dr. Joel Zivot, who studied the medical records of the 14 patients and determined they had severe and unrecoverable illnesses. Zivot also testified that recovery to a normal state of health was not possible for the patients, and he determined underlying medical issues caused their deaths.
During their initial conversations, the attorney said a doctor -- later identified as Husel -- was "administering doses of fentanyl at a level that they internally believed were inappropriate and not for a legitimate medical purpose," said Ron O'Brien, the Franklin County prosecutor at the time.
The investigation found the doses, which ranged from 500 to 2,000 micrograms, "were designed to hasten the death of the patients that were being treated," O'Brien said.
Fentanyl is an opioid used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain after surgery, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The drug, about 100 times more potent than morphine, is also often used in end-of-life care to reduce discomfort in dying patients.
The DEA considers 2 milligrams of fentanyl, or 2,000 micrograms, to be a potentially lethal dose.
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As a point of reference, I would routinely give 2000 micrograms of fentanyl to induce anesthesia for open heart surgery.
How many patients continued breathing after that dose? Most after half that dose.
Not a single one. It is certainly a lethal dose.
But, in my case, apnea was my friend.
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It's a hard question. I certainly have no problem with a doctor trying to keep a dying patient pain-free. I also know that opiate tolerance is definitely there in pain management patients. So elevated doses, within reason, could be argued. But many of his peers felt he had crossed the line into a form of euthanasia.
I have a problem with a doctor arbitrarily making these decisions, without patient input.
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It's a hard question. I certainly have no problem with a doctor trying to keep a dying patient pain-free. I also know that opiate tolerance is definitely there in pain management patients. So elevated doses, within reason, could be argued. But many of his peers felt he had crossed the line into a form of euthanasia.
I have a problem with a doctor arbitrarily making these decisions, without patient input.
@Jolly said in "Not Guilty":
It's a hard question. I certainly have no problem with a doctor trying to keep a dying patient pain-free.
Indeed. It's not clear from the stories I've seen how "dying" these people were.
I also know that opiate tolerance is definitely there in pain management patients. So elevated doses, within reason, could be argued.
Trust me. 2 grams of fentanyl is WAY beyond elevated, or reason
But many of his peers felt he had crossed the line into a form of euthanasia.
I have a problem with a doctor arbitrarily making these decisions, without patient input.
A forever colleague of mine got into similar trouble decades ago. It was, of course, a different time, so it was handled differently. It was, however, with the patient's and family's consent. Nevertheless he was thrown off the staff of the hospital and sent to work at a "sister" site where he finished out his career.
