Ohio doctor William Husel acquitted of all 14 counts of murder in fentanyl case

Ohio doctor William Husel was found not guilty on Wednesday of all 14 counts of murder he was facing after the end of life care he gave to 14 patients was blamed for their deaths.

Husel was accused of administering fatal amounts of fentanyl to terminal patients, which the plaintiffs say ultimately hastened the patients’ deaths. After seven days of deliberation, the jury returned 14 not guilty verdicts, acquitting Husel and freeing him from a potential life sentence.

Husel had his medical license suspended in 2019, and faced life in prison after a lawsuit was filed claiming he quickened the deaths of 14 of his patients who had entered his care with various terminal ailments. The patients were treated by Husel at the Mount Carmel Health System for issues ranging from cancer to organ failure.

While the use of fentanyl during end of life care is not unusual, the lawsuit alleges Husel ordered ten times the usual amount administered in a non-surgical setting to treat the 14 terminal patients named. The patients were treated by Husel between 2015 and 2018.

If he had been found guilty of even one count of murder, Husel would have faced life in prison without chance of parole for 15 years. The jury was permitted to consider a lesser charge of attempted murder, which typically carries a sentence of several years in prison but ultimately found him not guilty on all counts.

Husel’s attorneys argued their client was simply trying to provide comfort to patients who were facing death, and would never have risked his medical license and entire career to murder a patient.

Since 2019, 35 families have filed wrongful death suits against Husel, as well as the hospital and other staff members. Several of the families have settled for a total of about $13.5 million to date.