Pubdate: Thu, 12 Oct 2006
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Section: B10
Copyright: 2006 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Jerry Markon, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

DOCTOR WILL REMAIN IN PRISON UNTIL RETRIAL

Physician, Whose Drug Conviction Was Overturned, Deemed a Flight Risk

Former Northern Virginia pain-management doctor William E. Hurwitz, 
whose conviction on drug-trafficking charges was overturned, will not 
be released from prison until his retrial, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler said he was concerned that 
Hurwitz might flee after a federal jury in Alexandria convicted him 
in 2004 of running a drug conspiracy out of his McLean office and 
trafficking in narcotics. Hurwitz is perhaps the most prominent 
doctor to be targeted in a federal crackdown on what authorities call 
the over-prescribing of OxyContin and other painkillers.

"Things have changed with respect to flight," Wexler said as he 
rejected a motion from Hurwitz's attorneys to free him on bond. "A 
jury has found him guilty of 50 counts . . . I think there is a risk 
of flight."

The case has generated strong emotions, with Hurwitz becoming a 
symbol in a nationwide debate over whether licensed doctors who 
prescribe legal medication to patients in chronic pain should be 
prosecuted if their patients abuse or sell the drugs. About 10 family 
members and supporters were in court yesterday, and Hurwitz's brother 
said afterward that the judge's concerns were "laughable."

"He's not going to run away," said Kenneth Hurwitz, who is a senior 
associate for Human Rights First in New York. "He believes he's 
innocent. This is a guy who went to law school and medical school. He 
cares about his reputation. He's not someone who wants to live as a 
fugitive who knows where."

William Hurwitz, dressed in a green prison jumpsuit, sat quietly 
during the hearing, then glanced at family members and glumly shook 
his head as he was escorted out. He had been free on $2 million bond 
during his first trial.

In August, a federal appeals court overturned Hurwitz's conviction 
and granted him a new trial, which is scheduled for March. The U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that Wexler improperly 
instructed jurors that they could not consider whether Hurwitz acted 
in "good faith" when he prescribed large amounts of OxyContin and 
other painkillers -- for one patient, 1,600 pills a day. The "good 
faith" argument was central to Hurwitz's defense, his attorneys have 
said, because he believed he was helping his patients.

The appeals court noted that prosecutors presented "powerful" 
evidence at Hurwitz's trial that showed he was "acting outside the 
bounds of accepted medical practice." Wexler also cited that finding 
in declining to release Hurwitz yesterday.

Jurors convicted Hurwitz of trafficking that is alleged to have 
caused the death of one patient and seriously injured two others. 
They found him guilty on 50 counts, acquitted him on nine and 
deadlocked on three. Hurwitz, then 59, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The likelihood of a long prison term if he is convicted again gives 
Hurwitz reason to run away, prosecutors said yesterday as they urged 
Wexler to keep him in prison. "At least one jury found him guilty 50 
times over," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi. "He's about 60 
years old, and the sentence that was imposed, 25 years, is 
essentially a life sentence. That is a strong incentive."

Hurwitz's attorneys said he has a good chance of winning the retrial 
and didn't flee when he had the chance before. "He faithfully abided 
by every condition of his release," said defense attorney Lawrence Robbins.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman