COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A jury Wednesday acquitted an Ohio doctor of murder charges in multiple hospital patient deaths following a weekslong trial.
Dr. William Husel was accused of ordering excessive painkillers for 14 patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases involving at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.
Prosecutors said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husel had pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of murder, with his attorneys saying he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.
Prosecutors presented their case against the doctor beginning Feb. 22 and put on 53 prosecution witnesses before resting on March 29. Those witnesses included medical experts, Mount Carmel employees, investigators and family members of all 14 patients.
By contrast, defense lawyers called just a single witness, a Georgia anesthesiologist, to testify that Husel’s patients died from their medical conditions and not Husel’s actions. The defense rested on March 31 after one day.
“For me, this case is about intent. Did William Husel ever intend to kill any of his patients? Not just these 14 but anyone that he ever treated? And I believe the jury clearly spoke to that and so did the evidence,” Diane Menashe, who helped represent Husel, said Wednesday.
During closing arguments April 11, David Zeyen, an assistant Franklin County prosecutor, told jurors that regardless of how close a patient is to death, it’s illegal to speed up the process.
Husel attorney Jose Baez said prosecutors hadn’t produced “a shred of evidence” to back up their claims.
Mount Carmel has reached settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients, with more lawsuits pending.
What now lies on the minds of many are the implications and the precedent this ruling brings.
Criminal defense attorney Karen Felicia, speaking on NewsNation’s “Rush Hour” on Wednesday, said prosecution going forward is going to do better in determining who is providing the lethal dosages.
“Mr. Baez is very clear in that there has to be a distinction between the overdoses in the street and then what doctors are administering to patients that are terminally ill,” Felicia said.
“Before another prosecutor brings a case, that needs to be examined, to make sure that that particular hospital does have a policy with regard to the amount of dosage for not only fentanyl but other drugs that are administered for pain,” she continued.