Virginia pain doctor sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison

[struggle4progress]

Source: Associated Press

Published: July 13, 2007

~snip~ The sentence of four years and nine months was far less than the life sentence prosecutors said was appropriate for William E. Hurwitz, 61, whose pain-management clinic in a suburb of Washington, D.C., drew patients from across the country.

The sentence also was less than the 25-year term Hurwitz received at his first trial in 2005. That conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court, which ruled that Hurwitz had been improperly barred from arguing to the jury that he was acting in good faith.

Hurwitz was one of the most outspoken doctors in the United States advocating liberal use of opiates for pain treatment, once appearing on television talk show to tout his views. He said many doctors undertreat pain because they ignore patient complaints or they are fearful of harassment by drug-enforcement agents.

Numerous medical organizations filed briefs on Hurwitz's behalf when his original conviction was heard by the appellate court. They argued Hurwitz's conviction would scare doctors from prescribing appropriate levels of medication. ~snip~

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/13/america/NA-GEN-US-Pain-Doctor-Trial.php


Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/13/america/NA-GEN-US-Pain-Doctor-Trial.php

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Va. Pain Doctor's Prison Term Is Cut to 57 Months
Originally Sentenced to 25 Years, Specialist Did More Good Than Harm, Judge Says

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 14, 2007; Page B01

A prominent pain doctor who received a 25-year prison term three years ago for drug trafficking was re-sentenced yesterday to less than five years by a judge who concluded during his retrial that he helped far more patients than he hurt. ~snip~

Hurwitz, 61, a former pain specialist based in McLean, was a key target of a far-reaching investigation into doctors, pharmacists and patients suspected of selling potent and addictive painkillers. He was convicted twice of trafficking in narcotics, first in 2004, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

An appeals court threw out that verdict last year, saying that prosecutors had presented "powerful evidence" but that U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler improperly told jurors they could not consider whether Hurwitz acted in "good faith" when he prescribed large doses of medicine. A second jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria convicted Hurwitz on 16 counts of drug trafficking in April.

He has been in jail for about 2 1/2 years. ~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301035.html

Unmask an undercover CIA agent to start a senseless war and earn an "out of jail free" card! But try to help folk with chronic pain ...