PSL DOCTOR SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS IN PRISON

Ex-Doctor Draws 50 Years for Death, Drug Offenses

FORT PIERCE -- For the first time in the four years she's been labeled
a killer and drug trafficker, a former Port St. Lucie doctor Friday
spoke publicly -- addressing both the judge tasked with punishing her
and members of the community where she practiced medicine for more
than two decades.

The tiny 64-year-old grandmother said she was disillusioned with the
justice system and disappointed with a jury's verdict that convicted
her of manslaughter in the death of a longtime patient and also found
her guilty of five counts of trafficking pain pills and one count of
racketeering. She expressed frustration with the former patients who
testified against her, calling their accusations "all lies."

"I am saddened by the fact that those I tried to help improve their
lives and alleviate their suffering turned against me," Asuncion Luyao
said during her sentencing hearing Friday afternoon. "I want to let
you know that what I've done for 25 years in this county, I only did
to help people. I only did the best I could."

Shortly after speaking, Luyao learned her fate.

Senior Circuit Judge Dwight Geiger sentenced Luyao, who already had
lost her license to practice medicine, to 50 years in prison. The
sentence included 15 years for the manslaughter charge and 20 years
for the racketeering charge. Both sentences will run at the same time.

He ordered her to spend 30 years in prison for each of the five
trafficking-in-oxycodone charges, which also will run at the same time
but after the other sentences.

Geiger didn't have much choice. State law required a minimum of 25
years on two of the drug charges.

Assistant State Attorney Erin Kirkwood asked Geiger for a sentence of
60 years, saying Luyao fed the addictions of her patients with
prescriptions for large doses of painkillers, which led to overdose
deaths.

"She flooded the streets of the Treasure Coast with these drugs with
predictable results," Kirkwood said.

After Friday's hearing, Kirkwood said Geiger's sentence was fair.
Luyao's attorney, Joel Hirschhorn, called it a "death sentence."

"She's 64 years old. She's a frail woman," Hirschhorn said. "I think
she's in a state of shock, understandably so."

Prosecutors had charged Luyao with six counts of manslaughter in the
overdose deaths of six of her former patients. But the jury acquitted
Luyao on five of those counts, convicting her only in the March 2001
death of Julia Hartsfield, who had been Luyao's patient since 1996.

Hartsfield's husband sat in the back row of the courtroom and watched
the hearing, but he chose not to speak.

"This brings some closure for everyone involved," said Kirkwood, who
was involved with the case even before Luyao's 2002 arrest.

Connie Velie's daughter Tina Smith was one of the patients who died of
an overdose for which Luyao was found not guilty of manslaughter.
Velie said she still blames Luyao for both her daughter's death and
the death of her son, who was also Luyao's patient when he died. Luyao
was not charged in his death.

"I have two children I'll never see again," Velie said,
crying.

Throughout two trials -- the first ended in a mistrial last year --
Kirkwood argued that Luyao essentially ran a "pill mill" from her
office in the old Village Green plaza. The doctor's goal, she said,
was to make money by keeping patients addicted to powerful narcotics.

Hirschhorn argued that Luyao was a compassionate doctor who tried to
help patients who complained of pain and had no one else to turn to.
She was "taken in" by some who lied and manipulated her to get the
drugs, he argued.

During the hearing, Luyao thanked her friends and family who stuck by
her. Afterwards, Geiger allowed Luyao to remain in the courtroom as
one by one her family and friends sat down across from her to speak to
her. More than a dozen people lined up for the brief chance to be
close to her.

They were not allowed to touch her, and most cried as they offered her
words of love and support while Luyao quietly thanked them.

"In my prayers, I always thanked God for giving me a sister like
Asuncion Luyao," said Maria Nella. "I cannot understand why God has
chosen for her to bear this unique cross, but I believe he has a
purpose for her. I am proud to be her sister."

During her trials, Luyao did not reveal any emotions, but she began to
cry Friday when her sisters spoke on her behalf. They said Luyao's one
fault is that she's too trusting.

"People came to her and manipulated her and played with her
compassion," her sister-in-law Chary Mendoza said.