Jury instructions are expected to start on Monday in the murder trial of former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel. He's charged with 14 counts of murder for painkiller doses that prosecutors say killed patients.
The defense rested last week after calling just one witness. Prosecutors spent several weeks calling several witnesses, including family members of people who died.
Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow.
The witness for the defense was Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist at Emory University in Atlanta. Zivot spoke at length about the use of opioids to treat pain in dying patients and why there is no maximum dose.
Prosecutors had previously filed a motion to prevent Zivot and two other experts from testifying, arguing Zivot relied on improper information, including contact with Husel, to form his opinion.
The prosecution called 50 witnesses to testify against Husel, including family members of the victims, pharmacists and nurses at Mount Carmel West Hospital who worked with Husel, an anesthesiologist and medical experts.
Husel was originally indicted on 25 counts of murder, but that was reduced to 14 after the prosecution dismissed 11 of the charges following a December hearing in which Husel’s attorneys honed in on the standard that prosecutors used to decide when fentanyl doses became lethal.
The doctor was fired in December 2018 after the hospital received three formal complaints.
Lead defense attorney Jose Baez argued Tuesday that his client was exercising compassion for his patients and trying to free them from pain.
