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Nurses, Prosecutors Joust Over Post-Katrina Testimony

Caregivers accused in deaths of elderly patients

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 20, 2007 6:51 AM CDT

(Newser) – The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to unfold in the courts, where prosecutors have offered to drop second-degree murder charges against two nurses in exchange for their testimony about the deaths of four patients. The motions may be a sign that the case against the nurses is weak, the Times-Picayune reports, and the AP says the nurses will testify.

The nurses and a doctor have been charged with administering a deadly morphine cocktail to four elderly patients before their hospital was evacuated. The nurses fought the order to testify before a grand jury because the immunity grants would apply only to the case at hand—believed to be against the doctor—and not to future evidence prosecutors might develop.

National Guard evacuate a wheelchair bound patient from an evacuation zone near Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Thursday, September 1, 2005.
National Guard evacuate a wheelchair bound patient from an evacuation zone near Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Thursday, September 1, 2005.   (KRT Photos)
NEW ORLEANS, MS -- National Guard evacuate a wheelchair bound patient from an evacuation zone near Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Thursday, September 1, 2005.
NEW ORLEANS, MS -- National Guard evacuate a wheelchair bound patient from an evacuation zone near Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Thursday, September 1, 2005.   (KRT Photos)
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- A hurricane evacuation route sign is still nearly submerged in floodwaters in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, September 2, 2005.
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- A hurricane evacuation route sign is still nearly submerged in floodwaters in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, September 2, 2005.   (KRT Photos)
Dr. Anna Pou is charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of hospital patients after Katrina.
Dr. Anna Pou is charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of hospital patients after Katrina.   (Getty Images)
Nurse Lori Budo may have been granted immunity in the case.
Nurse Lori Budo may have been granted immunity in the case.   (Getty Images)
Nurse Cheri Landry may have been granted immunity in the case.
Nurse Cheri Landry may have been granted immunity in the case.   (Getty Images)
A search and rescue team transports animals left at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Monday, September 5, 2005.
A search and rescue team transports animals left at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans on Monday, September 5, 2005.   (KRT Photos)
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