Ohio Doctor Not Guilty of Murdering Patients With High Opioid Doses

An Ohio jury found William Husel, DO, not guilty in the murder of 14 patients who prosecutors claim were given excessive doses of fentanyl that hastened their deaths.

The decision came more than a week after jurors began deliberations, and 2 days after they told the judge they were at an impasse and couldn't reach a unanimous verdict.

"[Husel] is incredibly happy and grateful, and wants this time right now to spend with his family," Husel's lead defense attorney Jose Baez said during a press briefing following the verdict. "They're incredibly relieved that this nightmare is finally over."

"He's an incredible doctor and it's unfortunate that this happened to him, but we're glad for this verdict -- the only verdict that justice could have given," he added.

Jurors had been instructed to consider lesser charges of attempted murder if they found Husel not guilty of murder, but they ultimately found him not guilty on those charges as well.

Husel was originally charged with killing 25 people from 2015 to 2018, with doses of fentanyl ranging from 500 to 2,000 mcg. But just ahead of the trial, Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook dismissed 11 of the charges -- corresponding to the patients who received 1,000 mcg of fentanyl or less.

Opening statements in the trial began on February 22. Ultimately, the prosecution called 53 witnesses, but the defense called only one -- Joel Zivot, MD, a critical care physician at Emory University in Atlanta.

Zivot told MedPage Today that during the trial he remarked on the fact that there are no guidelines and no upper limit for fentanyl dosing in a palliative care setting.

"The pain of dying is hard to know, and you don't want to under-dose people," he said.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine did not return a request for comment as of press time regarding opioid dosing in end-of-life care.

Zivot said a guilty verdict could have had a further chilling effect on healthcare workers, particularly following last month's conviction of former nurse RaDonda Vaught, who is facing prison time for what many have described as an honest medical error.

Zivot said he was not paid for his testimony; he was only compensated for travel expenses.

Baez said Husel hired him after he removed himself from Harvey Weinstein's defense team. Baez has also worked on other high-profile cases, including the Casey Anthony and Aaron Hernandez trials.

Husel is also facing additional civil cases, according to reports. Attorneys for the families of victims also spoke at a briefing after the verdict, stating they will bring a set of experts in anesthesiology, critical care, and palliative care that will lead to a different conclusion in those upcoming civil cases.

"Our job is to prove that Dr. Husel acted inconsistently with accepted standards of medical practice. There wasn't a single expert called by the defense to say that Dr. Husel did [act consistently with medical practice]," said Gerry Leeseberg, an attorney representing victims' families. "The only expert they called and the only experts they have in the civil cases are trying to claim that he did not intend to kill these people and he was doing what he thought was good comfort care. Dr. Husel does not get to practice what he thinks is good comfort care. He has to comply with good standards of medical practice."

"Was his heart in the right place? We're gonna find out, but it doesn't make any difference," Leeseberg added. "You don't get to do what you wanna do as a doctor in disregard for medical standards of practice."

As to the question of why he only called one witness when prosecutors called 53, Baez noted that the "burden of proof" is on prosecutors, and that he felt the evidence was on his side. He pointed out that "90% of witnesses called by the prosecution were incredibly favorable to the defense."

Husel, who began working for Mount Carmel Health System in 2014 on the overnight ICU shift, was fired in December 2018 after reports of the high doses came to light. Several nurses and pharmacists who were involved in delivering the doses were also subsequently fired, with a total of 23 employees pushed out by 2019 in connection to the case, according to reports. Husel subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against the hospital.

Husel's medical license was suspended in 2019, but Baez said Husel hopes to one day practice medicine again.

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