8-year sentence in meningitis outbreak
Almost 80 people died from injections tainted with mold
BOSTON — A Massachusetts pharmacist convicted for his role in a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak fought through sobs as he apologized to victims and their families Wednesday before being sentenced to eight years in prison.
Nearly 80 people died and almost 800 were sickened in what’s considered the worst public health crisis in recent U.S. history. The fungal meningitis outbreak was caused by mold-tainted steroid injections produced by the New England Compounding Center.
Glenn Chin, who ran the so-called clean rooms where the drugs were made, sobbed as he struggled through his statement during his sentencing hearing in Boston’s federal courthouse. Chin said he knows some victims will never forgive him, but he’ll continue to pray that they will find some sort of peace.
Prosecutors wanted a 35-year-sentence for Chin, pointing to the devastating impact the outbreak had on families across the country. Chin’s lawyers asked for about three years behind bars.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Strachan relayed how a victim’s daughter said she heard her mother’s scream of pain from floors below when the daughter visited her mother in the hospital. The daughter compared the sound of her mother’s screams to the sound of the ship careening into the ocean in the movie “Titanic,” Strachan said.
Chin was convicted in October of racketeering and mail fraud but was cleared of second-degree murder, which could have brought a life sentence. He had been charged with the deaths of 25 people.
Throughout his trial, prosecutors portrayed him as a callous employee who cut corners and ignored warning signs of unsafe production methods to boost production and profits.
Chin’s attorneys said there was no evidence Chin caused the drugs to become contaminated.