Graves Guilty

PACE DOCTOR CONVICTED IN 4 DRUG DEATHS

Dr. James Graves on Tuesday became the first physician in the nation to be
convicted of manslaughter for prescribing the painkiller OxyContin - and
other potent narcotics - that led to the overdose deaths of four of his
patients.

A jury of four men and two women deliberated 4 hours Tuesday before finding
Graves guilty on one count of racketeering, four counts of manslaughter and
five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Bell revoked Graves' $75,000 bond and ordered him
held at Santa Rosa County Jail until sentencing. Assistant State Attorney
Russ Edgar said the verdict is the first salvo in a battle to curb
prescription drug abuse in Northwest Florida.

"I thought if we succeeded in prosecuting this case, it would deter others
and make our community safer," Edgar said. "It's a matter of public safety
and public health."

To others, the verdict sends a more simple message.

"He killed my son, and the jury confirmed that today," said Jane Daniels,
whose son, Jeffrey Daniels, was a patient of Graves and fatally overdosed
in November 1999.

Defense attorney Mike Gibson promised an appeal on several issues.

Graves' wife, Alicia, daughter Jordan and son Jimmy wept as they hugged the
Pace doctor before he was led away. The family members all testified for
the defense.

The jury agreed with Edgar that Graves, 55, overprescribed virtually the
same potential, deadly combination of drugs to dozens of patients who did
not need them. Many patients grew dependent on or addicted to the narcotics.

They rejected the defense argument that Graves was simply treating his
patients' symptoms, and they lied to him to get the drugs they craved.
Graves testified for three days and insisted he did nothing wrong.

"I think what's important is you do what you do to the best of your
ability," Graves testified.

The jury's work

Graves' prescribed narcotics of choice were OxyContin in two strengths
along with Lortab, Soma and Xanax, dubbed the "Graves cocktail" by pharmacists.

"The defendant, in effect, put people in a chemical straitjacket," Edgar
said during closing arguments Tuesday. "It was to his financial benefit to
do so and ... also it served his ego."

Edgar estimated Graves took in $500,000 a year at his pain-management
office on U.S. 90 in Milton. The office opened in September 1998 and closed
in July 2000 after Graves was arrested.

Two dozen pharmacists testified they were so concerned about the drugs that
they warned some patients they could die from the combination. By the end
of 1999, all the chain pharmacies in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, and
some independent pharmacies, stopped filling Graves' prescriptions.

Patients said they discussed their addiction with the doctor. He examined
needle marks on some people, yet he continued to write prescriptions,
testimony showed. Although OxyContin is a time-released medication, addicts
crush pills, mix them with water, heat the mixture and then inject it.

To convict Graves of manslaughter by culpable negligence, jurors were
required to find that Graves should have reasonably known his prescriptions
were "likely to cause death or great bodily injury."

To be guilty of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, the jury had
to agree that Graves "acted outside the usual course of professional
practice" and for "no legitimate medical purpose." Under Florida law,
doctors can prescribe controlled substances such as OxyContin or Xanax if
they are acting in good faith and within the course of professional practice.

The racketeering charge required jurors to agree that at least twice,
Graves either illegally prescribed controlled substances or was guilty of
manslaughter in the deaths of two people.

Graves testified he was merely treating chronic-pain patients and that he
believed them when they described their symptoms.

He said even when four patients overdosed within seven months, he did not
question his own medical judgment. However, he also admitted his records
lacked patient notes.

Edgar disputed Graves' testimony and told jurors they should dispute it as
well. He said the doctor "didn't tell the truth" about the kind of
treatment he prescribed, nor that he was fired from the former Accident and
Pain Center and the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution.

"The defendant doctored the records, then doctored the facts," Edgar said.
"The one thing he didn't doctor was his patients."

Investigators speak

Besides proclaiming his innocence, Graves questioned the prosecution's
motives, both before the trial and while he testified.

He claimed he was the target of an unfair investigation.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Cpl. Chris Watson, a narcotics officer who
worked on the case for two years, rejected that suggestion. He said no
other area doctors are under investigation.

"What's important is: Legitimate physicians don't have to worry," Watson
said. "We're not on a witch hunt."

Watson said Graves' arrest had an immediate impact on the local supply of
OxyContin, and the drug's price on the streets rose considerably.

"I think the verdict sends a strong message that people can't stand behind
a license," Watson said.

Special Agent Dennis Norred of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
said Graves only needs to look at his patients who were trying to kick
their drug habits. Norred started to hear about Graves in May 1999 and
opened an investigation three months later.

Norred said the patients agreed to come forward, released their medical
records and cooperated with investigators.

"Some of them had friends who were dying," Norred said. "They wanted to
help the investigation."

The drug deaths

Graves was convicted in the deaths of the following four patients:

a.. Jeffrey Daniels, 30, died of a drug overdose on Nov. 10, 1999.

b.. Gwen Carpenter, 37, died of complications from multiple medications on
Dec. 21, 1999.

c.. Howard Rice, 41, died of a drug overdose on April 12, 2000.

d.. William Morris, 48, died of a drug overdose on June 28, 2000.

165-year sentence?

A sentencing date could be set today for Dr. James Graves, who faces a
maximum 15 years in prison on each of his manslaughter and unlawful
delivery convictions, and a maximum of 30 years on a racketeering
conviction. Circuit Judge Kenneth Bell ordered a presentence investigation,
as required by law. Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said he would ask
for a lengthy prison term.

Jurors aren't talking

It took a jury about 4 hours to return guilty verdicts on all counts
against Pace physician James F. Graves - and less than four minutes for
them to leave the courthouse.

After a clerk announced the verdict on four counts of manslaughter, five
counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and one charge of
racketeering, Circuit Judge Kenneth Bell dismissed the four men and two
women who served six weeks on the panel.

Court security whisked them out the front entrance of the courthouse to
their vehicles when the trial ended Tuesday.

Jurors declined to comment on the case or their deliberations after the trial.

"This is the longest trial I have ever had to preside over," Bell said. He
praised the jury for their attention. "Sometimes the testimony was
riveting, sometimes not so riveting."

Bell said the jury went beyond the normal call of duty by serving on a
six-weeklong trial.

"They didn't ask for this job," Bell said. "They have done, I think, an
admirable job of paying attention throughout the whole case."