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Doctor Convicted of Manslaughter in Four OxyContin Deaths Sentenced to 62 years

By Lindsay F. Wiley [Bio]

March 27, 2002 - The nation's first doctor to be found guilty of manslaughter in an OxyContin death was sentenced to nearly 63 years in prison last Friday. Dr. James Graves was convicted by a Milton, Fla. jury of manslaughter and racketeering in connection with the overdose deaths of four people for whom he had prescribed OxyContin and other drugs.

The New York Times reports that at Graves's trial, assistant state attorney Russ Edgar argued that Graves, who practiced in Pace, Fla., near Pensacola, was widely known among addicts for running a "prescription mill," where for $100 a visit, patients could get prescriptions for OxyContin and other drugs. Graves had allegedly bragged that treating pain patients was a "gold mine" and that he rarely examined patients or filled out medical records. The prosecutor also argued that Graves ignored pleas from pharmacists and patients' families to limit his narcotics prescriptions.

When used properly, OxyContin releases timed doses of the synthetic opiate oxycodone. By crushing the pills, addicts are able to circumvent the pill's time-release safeguard to get a powerful high.

Although a handful of doctors have been prosecuted in the last few years in connection with drug overdoses, according to Professor Ann Alpers: "Detailed examination of these cases illustrates that fear of criminal liability or investigation should not deter physicians or nurses from aggressively using opioid analgesics to manage terminal pain, provided that pain has been carefully assessed and treated and communication with families and involved professional caregivers is thorough." Ann Alpers, Criminal Act or Palliative Care? Prosecutions Involving the Care of the Dying, 26 J. LAW MED. & ETHICS 308, 310, 326 (1998).