DOCTOR GETS LIFE FOR DRUG DEATHS

PENSACOLA - A Florida Panhandle doctor was sentenced to life in prison
for illegally prescribing and dispensing medications, including
painkillers, that led to two overdose deaths.

Freddie J. Williams, 54, received the life sentence Wednesday for
prescribing oxycodone that led to the death of Brian Sanders in 2002
and Bonnie Ramos in 2000.

U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers also ordered Williams to pay more
than $2 million in restitution to medical insurance providers and a
wholesale pharmaceutical distributor.

Williams maintained his innocence, saying some patients lied to him
and others forged prescriptions.

"I prescribed narcotics in good faith and for legitimate medical
purposes," Williams said.

Oxycodone is the active ingredient in OxyContin, linked to more than
100 deaths across the nation.