March 22, 2017
A jury in Boston reached a verdict Wednesday in the trial of pharmacist Barry Cadden on murder and racketeering charges in the deaths of 25 patients injected with steroids from his lab.
The verdict was to be read in court Wednesday morning.
Cadden, who earned tens of millions of dollars as co-founder and head pharmacist at New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison for his alleged role in a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012. According to the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 751 patients in 20 states came down with meningitis infections after being injected with NECC steroids, and 64 of them died.
Defense lawyer Bruce Singal argued that there was no evidence that Cadden was responsible for the deaths, rejecting the government’s lcaims that the center’s facilities disregard for health standards gave rise to mold, bacteria, flies and even oil seeping up through the floor.
Cadden is the first defendant to be tried in the case. Supervisory pharmacist Glenn A. Chin, who allegedly oversaw the room where tainted batches were compounded, also faces second-degree murder charges and is expected to be tried after Cadden.
Twelve others were initially charged with lesser crimes; some had their charges dropped. Others have pleaded guilty.
This article retrieved from USAToday.com
