An accused Ohio serial killer and doctor was found not guilty Wednesday by a jury of his peers, after more than one week of deliberations in the high-profile case.
Dr. William Husel was criminally charged with 14 murders between 2015 and 2018 – and suspected of up to 25 – when prosecutors alleged that he gave dying patients at Mount Carmel West Hospital enough fentanyl to kill them.
His defense, led by Jose Baez, the high-profile attorney from the Casey Anthony case among others, argued that the blame could not be placed on Husel and Husel alone.
“First off, the doctor orders the medicine,” Baez said at the beginning of the trial. “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.”
“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,” Baez continued. “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.”
Husel never took the stand in his own defense, and Baez only called one witness – Georgia anesthesiologist Dr. Joel Zivot – who said that, in his medical opinion, not only were the patients surely terminally ill, but that their deaths were not caused by excessive painkillers, and rather were due to underlying natural causes.
The prosecution called more than 50 witnesses in the weeks-long trial.
“I can tell you he’s incredibly happy and grateful. He wants this time right now to spend with his family,” Baez reportedly said after the trial. “They’re incredibly relieved that this nightmare is finally over.”
Husel’s medical license is currently suspended, and there is no word yet on whether he will practice medicine again in the future.
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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.
