Defense attorneys Tuesday made their opening arguments in the case of a high-profile alleged serial killer, Dr. William Husel.
Husel stands criminally accused of 14 murders between 2015 and 2018 for allegedly intentionally giving his patients at Mount Carmel West Hospital enough fentanyl to kill them.
His attorneys do not see it that way.
“First off, the doctor orders the medicine,” Husel’s defense attorney Jose Baez said. “But what you have to realize [is] in the ICU, there’s one doctor for 30 beds, so the person that coordinates the care is the nurse.”
Baez is famous for his successful 2011 representation of Casey Anthony, who was accused of killing her own child. He has also been retained by high-profile defendants including former NFL star Aaron Hernandez and Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
“And there are a series of safeguards that are set up to prevent this from happening, and to actually ensure that the patient’s safety is a must,” he said. “Dr. Husel will order the medication, the nurse will either answer the order if it’s a verbal order, or retrieve the medication … After that, a pharmacist is supposed to verify the order. Now, there’s going to be a lot of debate about the pharmacists in this case, but a pharmacist is the person in charge of the medications. It’s a 50/50 responsibility between the pharmacist and the doctor.”
In the opening argument, Husel’s defense made the case that Husel is not solely responsible for the deaths, but that all of the employees involved in the care of his patients are also culpable.
Further, Baez alleged that Husel should not be held culpable at all. He said that the hospital had no set procedure for the amount of fentanyl given to patients in pain, and that the decision was left up to the doctor. According to Baez, it wasn’t until the hospital system began receiving criticism over the alleged fentanyl overdose deaths that it put protocols in place for distributing the drug to patients. Baez claims that, facing potential ramification for the deaths, the hospital system is scapegoating Husel for the deaths.
Prosecutors intend to prove that Husel acted maliciously and alone, knowing that the doses of fentanyl he gave to his patients would kill them, and administering those doses anyway.
The state has officially charged Husel with 14 counts of murder.
Mount Carmel Health System, the parent organization of Mount Carmel West Hospital where Husel was employed, did not return a comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “William Husel” by Franklin County Jail. Background Photo “Mount Carmel West Hospital” by Sixflashphoto CC BY-SA 4.0.
