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Fla. Doctor on Trial for Patient's Death
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 4, 2005; 1:06 PM
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A doctor accused of first-degree murder for allegedly killing a patient by wrongly prescribing the powerful painkiller OxyContin kept sloppy records and used poor judgment but he is no killer, his attorney said in an opening statement.
Dr. Denis Deonarine did a poor job of compiling patients' charts and hiring office staff but he was "a caring physician trying his best to help his patients," attorney Richard Lubin told jurors Tuesday.
Deonarine, 58, is on trial for first-degree murder and more than 80 other felony counts, including trafficking OxyContin, the sale and delivery of the prescription drug Diazepam and Medicaid fraud.
He faces a life sentence if convicted of murder, and at least 25 years in prison if found guilty on any of the trafficking charges.
Prosecutors charged him with murder because they contend a homicide occurred in the commission of another felony _ drug trafficking.
Assistant State Attorney Barbara Burns said the doctor was such a notorious pill pusher that some pharmacists wouldn't fill his prescriptions "because of the dosage levels and the number of pills prescribed."
Deonarine is among the first doctor in the nation to be indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of a patient who overdosed on OxyContin, a drug that has been used since 1995 to treat moderate to severe chronic pain.
Hundreds of people have died nationwide from breaking up the pills and snorting or injecting themselves to get an instant rush from a dose intended to be time-released over 12 hours.
The Jupiter doctor was charged in connection with the overdose death of Michael Labzda, 21, of Jupiter. Labzda's friends said he was snorting crushed OxyContin pills and drinking beer and rum and Cokes before he died in February 2001.
A Florida Panhandle doctor was sentenced to life in prison in September for illegally prescribing and dispensing medications, including painkillers, that led to two overdose deaths.
Dr. Freddie J. Williams, 54, received the life sentence in federal court for prescribing oxycodone that lead to the death of Brian Sanders in 2002 and Bonnie Ramos in 2000.
Another Panhandle physician, Dr. James Graves, of Pace, in 2002 was the first doctor in the nation convicted of manslaughter for OxyContin-related deaths. Graves was sentenced to 63 years in state prison on four manslaughter counts for deaths from OxyContin and other drugs he had prescribed.
Fla. Doctor on Trial for Patient's Death
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 4, 2005; 1:06 PM
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A doctor accused of first-degree murder for allegedly killing a patient by wrongly prescribing the powerful painkiller OxyContin kept sloppy records and used poor judgment but he is no killer, his attorney said in an opening statement.
Dr. Denis Deonarine did a poor job of compiling patients' charts and hiring office staff but he was "a caring physician trying his best to help his patients," attorney Richard Lubin told jurors Tuesday.
Deonarine, 58, is on trial for first-degree murder and more than 80 other felony counts, including trafficking OxyContin, the sale and delivery of the prescription drug Diazepam and Medicaid fraud.
He faces a life sentence if convicted of murder, and at least 25 years in prison if found guilty on any of the trafficking charges.
Prosecutors charged him with murder because they contend a homicide occurred in the commission of another felony _ drug trafficking.
Assistant State Attorney Barbara Burns said the doctor was such a notorious pill pusher that some pharmacists wouldn't fill his prescriptions "because of the dosage levels and the number of pills prescribed."
Deonarine is among the first doctor in the nation to be indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of a patient who overdosed on OxyContin, a drug that has been used since 1995 to treat moderate to severe chronic pain.
Hundreds of people have died nationwide from breaking up the pills and snorting or injecting themselves to get an instant rush from a dose intended to be time-released over 12 hours.
The Jupiter doctor was charged in connection with the overdose death of Michael Labzda, 21, of Jupiter. Labzda's friends said he was snorting crushed OxyContin pills and drinking beer and rum and Cokes before he died in February 2001.
A Florida Panhandle doctor was sentenced to life in prison in September for illegally prescribing and dispensing medications, including painkillers, that led to two overdose deaths.
Dr. Freddie J. Williams, 54, received the life sentence in federal court for prescribing oxycodone that lead to the death of Brian Sanders in 2002 and Bonnie Ramos in 2000.
Another Panhandle physician, Dr. James Graves, of Pace, in 2002 was the first doctor in the nation convicted of manslaughter for OxyContin-related deaths. Graves was sentenced to 63 years in state prison on four manslaughter counts for deaths from OxyContin and other drugs he had prescribed.
Give me a break.
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