Another controversy involved one of the doctors and two nurses who
stayed behind.
Dr. Anna Marie Pou, nurse Cheri Landry and nurse Lori
Budo were accused of murder by State Attorney General Charles Foti. The case was so weak the Grand Jury returned a "No True Bill" in July 2007. The doctor and nurses are exonerated but I don't believe they are going to just let this drop.
A New Orleans group support Dr. Pou, Budo and Landry (click)The controversy ratcheted up a notch when a Times Picayune
series focused on the events at Memorial after the storm. Pou appeared
on 60 Minutes on 9/24/6. Morley Safer made her look like a hero, but he
neglected to question the witnesses.
Foti is coming under increasing scrutiny. Two quotes from him regarding this issue:
- "When you use both of them together, it becomes a lethal cocktail and guarantees they’re going to die."
- "This is not euthanasia. This is plain and simple homicide."
Then
came the arrests themselves. Although the three under investigation
agreed to surrender, the state saw fit to subject these women to the
"perp walk" typically reserved for violent criminals. This further
added to the speculation that the arrests were being staged as media
events.
In November, 2006 amidst a flurry of legal activity and
a CNN information request, Criminal District Court Judge Calvin Johnson
urged prosecutors to make a decision soon on whether
to seek charges. Eddie Jordan says he has been waiting for death
certificates from coroner Frank Minyard. Minyard's office says the
death certificates are complete and ready for the grand jury and
Jordan's office knows it. Jordan's spokesperson indicated he'd convene
the grand jury early in 2007.
June 2007 finds Foti and Jordan trying to offer the nurses immunity in order to compel their testimony against Dr. Pou. The nurses appealed in state court not wanting to testify but their appeal was denied. Part of their appeal referenced the Danziger Seven case in which officers were offered immunity to force testimony and then charged anyway.