process
Heart doctor at the Berlin Charité sentenced to prison
A heart doctor at the Berlin Charité has been sentenced to prison. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
After the death of two patients, a doctor from the Charité in Berlin goes to court. The public prosecutor accuses him of murder. He is said to have abused his position. Now there is a verdict.
The doctor leaves the courtroom a free man and appears relieved – but he has been sentenced to four years in prison. In the trial surrounding the deaths of two seriously ill patients, the Berlin regional court found him guilty of manslaughter in two cases. The Berliner’s senior physician Charité violated applicable rules. “We are convinced that it was a deliberate attempt to shorten life and therefore a killing,” said presiding judge Gregor Herb.
The court is convinced that the 56-year-old killed a male and female patient (both 73) in a cardiac intensive care unit in November 2021 and July 2022 with an overdose of anesthetic. According to the judge, those affected were “doomed to die.” It could also be that in both cases “a switch from curative to palliative treatment was indicated. However, the drug propofol was administered in an amount that far exceeds what is conceivable in the context of a therapeutic treatment. Also Almost nothing is documented, as is otherwise the case in palliative medicine.
The court assumes the case is less serious
In addition, the doctor acted without consultation with relatives. There was no living will. Unlike the public prosecutor, the court saw no signs of murder. There is much to suggest that the doctor acted “out of compassion and affection for his patients.” The court does not see an “anti-life attitude” in him. It was based on a legally minor case. Many colleagues described the 56-year-old as an experienced, competent and patient-oriented person.
The court’s verdict fell well short of the prosecutor’s request. This had demanded a life sentence for the doctor in two cases of murder. In addition, public prosecutor Martin Knispel requested that the 56-year-old be banned from practicing his profession for life. The court saw no reason for this. It is assumed that the doctor would never act like that again, said Judge Herb. Significant professional consequences are to be expected with the guilty verdict.
Doctor released since August 2022
The senior physician was released from work by the Charité in August 2022. He was taken into custody in May 2023. The 56-year-old was targeted by investigators after an initially anonymous tip from a young nurse. According to Charité information, this was received as part of a kind of whistleblower system with trusted lawyers. Clinic employees who notice any inconsistencies can go there. The woman was the main witness in the trial with a total of more than 30 witnesses and experts.
With the ruling, the court suspended the arrest warrant so that the doctor did not have to go back to prison after almost a year in custody. He must report to the police twice a week until the verdict is final.
Defense does not accept verdict
The defense announced that it would appeal. She had pleaded for acquittal. The behavior of her client was not the cause of the death of the 73-year-old seriously ill people, said lawyer Ria Halbritter in her plea. Both patients were in an “active dying phase”. In such a situation, it is permissible to switch to palliative therapy. She accused the public prosecutor of having conducted a one-sided investigation.
Doctor leaves court relieved
The doctor rejected the allegations during the trial. He gave both of them a sedative to reduce their suffering. This was not done in the quantities stated in the indictment. The doctor said he was sure he “did not shorten the lives of the patients.” He explained that he only had to blame himself for not documenting the administration of propofol in the accused cases. After the verdict, he left court apparently relieved. He said briefly that he was happy to finally come home.
A co-defendant in the case was a nurse on one count of aiding and abetting manslaughter. The court stopped the proceedings against the 39-year-old after a four-month trial against a fine of 1,500 euros. In her case, there was no question of intentional action, the court reasoned at the time.