Doc Won't Face Katrina Murder Charge

A grand jury yesterday refused to indict a doctor accused in the deaths of nine patients who died while trapped in a hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prosecutors alleged Anna Pou injected patients with lethal amounts of painkillers and sedatives; her lawyer says the Louisiana AG was attempting to scapegoat her for deaths caused by governmental failures.

Pou faces four civil suits in connection with the deaths. She and two nurses, who testified before the grand jury under an immunity grant, originally were accused of contributing to the deaths of four patients. Pou says she'll resume practicing "as soon as possible," the Times-Picayune reports, and says the AG "has to live with the decisions that he made." (More Hurricane Katrina stories.)