Chin To Face Jury on Murder Charges

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Michigan judge ruled today that Glenn Chin, a former Massachusetts pharmacist, must face a jury on charges of second degree murder in the deaths of 11 Livingston County patients.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Hatty issued the ruling following a 30 minute session in which Chin's attorney, James Buttrey, argued that state prosecutors had failed to prove that any action by Chin caused the 11 deaths.
Hatty denied a motion that would have effectively dismissed the charges.
"There isn't any evidence that Glenn Chin caused the contamination," Buttrey said.
Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend, however, said the evidence in the case was overwhelming.
"It was all about greed," said Townsend, adding that actions by Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden made it likely that patients would suffer death or bodily harm.
Hatty already has ruled that Cadden will have to face a jury trial on the same second degree murder charges.
The two were charged following an investigation of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak caused by steroids riddled with deadly fungus and shipped to healthcare providers in Michigan and some 20 other state.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the deadly drugs. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC and oversaw the clean room where the deadly drugs were comppounded.
Following Hatty's ruling Buttrey asked for a delay in formally issuing the ruling so that he could file an interlocutory appeal. Hatty agreed to delay the formal ruling until the first business day after Jan. 1.
"We don't believe Chin meant to causs death," Townsend argued prior to the ruling. "He just flat out didn't care."
Townsend recounted the testimony of NECC employees who worked under Chin's supervision. When one worker confronted Chin with the possible consequences of NECC's practices, Townsend recounted, Chin replied, "That's why we have lawyers."
Buttrey, however, cited multiple possible causes of the contamination that were beyond Chin's control.
Chin witnessed the proceedings from the Livingston County jail where both he and Cadden have been confined.
The two already have been found guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act but two federal juries declined to convict them of second degree murder as part of a racketeering charge.
Buttrey argued that it wasn't Chin but other NECC employees who placed the steroids in vials prior to their shipment to health providers.
"There isn't any evidence he caused the contamination," Buttrey said.
Hatty, however, concluded that it would be up to a jury to decide whether Chin was guilty of the charges.
"It is certainly a question of fact that a jury must decide," Hatty said.
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