Interim Staff

A grand jury has decided not to indict Dr. Anna Pou, who was accused, along with two nurses, of administering lethal doses of drugs to patients following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The charges against the nurses were dropped in July. Attorney-General Charles Foti said the four patients, aged 61 to 90, would not have died if Pou had not given them morphine and midazolam hydrochloride.

Furthermore, Foti said nine deaths at the hospital where Pou worked appeared suspicious, even though she was only being held accountable for four. Pou acknowledged administering the medication, but insisted it was “only to relieve pain.” Bradley Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said: “In these horrid conditions, a few doctors and nurses attempted to save as many lives as possible. However, while some doctors were trying to save lives, something sinister may have been happening.”