RaDonda Vaught, a former Tennessee nurse convicte of two felonies for a fatal drug error. Whose trial became a rallying cry for nurses fearful of the criminalization of medical mistakes, will not be required to spend any time in prison.
Davidson County criminal court Judge Jennifer Smith on Friday grante. Vaught a judicial diversion, which means her conviction will be expunge. if she completes a three-year probation.
Smith said the Murphey family suffered a “terrible loss” and “nothing that happens here today can ease that loss.”
Tennessee nurse convicted in lethal drug error sentence to three years probation
Tennessee nurse convicted in lethal drug error sentenced to three years probation
Tennessee nurse convicted in lethal drug probation
“Miss Vaught is well aware of the seriousness of the offense,” Smith said. “She credibly expressed remorse in this courtroom.”
The judge noted that Vaught had no criminal record, has been remove from the health care setting. will never practice nursing again. The judge also said, “This was a terrible, terrible mistake and there have been consequences to the defendant.”
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This story was produce in partnership with Kaiser Health News.
As the sentence was read, cheers erupte from a crowd of hundreds. Purple-clad protesters who gathered outside the courthouse in opposition to Vaught’s prosecution.
Vaught, 38, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, faced up to eight years in prison. In March she was convicte of criminally negligent homicide. Neglect of an impaired adult for the 2017 death of 75-year-old patient Charlene Murphey. Murphey was prescribed Verse, a sedative, Vaught inadvertently. Gave her a fatal dose of vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer.
Charlene Murphey’s son, Michael Murphey, testified at Friday’s sentencing hearing that his family remains devastated by the sudden death of their matriarch. She was “a very forgiving person” who would not want Vaught to serve any prison time, he said, but his widower father wanted Vaught to receive “the maximum sentence.”
The Davidson County district attorney’s office, which did not advocate for any particular sentence or oppose probation, has described Vaught’s case as an indictment of one careless nurse, not the entire nursing profession. Prosecutors argued in trial that Vaught overlooked multiple warning signs when she grabbed the wrong drug, including failing to notice Versed is a liquid and vecuronium is a powder.
Vaught admitted her error after the mix-up was discovere. Her defense largely focused on arguments that an honest mistake should not constitute a crime.
During the hearing on Friday, Vaught said she was forever change by Murphey’s death and was “open and honest. Error in an effort to prevent future mistakes by other nurses. Vaught also said there was no public interest in sentencing her to prison. Because she could not possibly re-offen after her nursing license was revoke.
“I have lost far more than just my nursing license and my career. I will never be the same person,” Vaught said, her voice quivering as she began to cry. “When Ms. Murphey died, a part of me died with her.”
....................................................................At one point during her statement, Vaught turned to face Murphey’s family, apologizing for both the fatal error and how the public campaign against her prosecution may have forced the family to relive their loss.
