Gosnell
After receiving a sentence of life imprisonment for killing babies born alive in his clinic, Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell has been walloped with an additional 30-year prison term for running a “pill mill” out of the same clinic, according to a statement released by the U.S. attorney’s office.
Gosnell, 72, pleaded guilty to prescribing and dispensing narcotics from June 2008 to February 2010, writing fraudulent prescriptions for hundreds of thousands of pills — including 600,000 pills containing oxycodone— to customers who showed no medical need.
Gosnell and his staff allowed customers to purchase prescriptions under multiple names, pay in cash and give tips to the clinic’s staff, according to the release. He wrote more than 2,300 prescriptions for controlled substances in January 2010 alone, charging up to $150 for each.
In May, Gosnell was convicted of three first-degree murder counts and sentenced to two life terms by Judge Jeffrey Minehart. To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Gosnell agreed to give up the right to appeal his convictions. He also will not have the possibility of parole.
The jury found Gosnell guilty of killing three babies who were delivered alive at his Philadelphia abortion clinic. After he was scheduled to return to court on May 21 to determine whether he should get the death penalty or life behind bars, he took the plea instead.
Though prosecutors had sought the death penalty, because of his advanced age it was deemed unlikely that he would live long enough to survive all the death penalty appeals, which can last decades.