LIFE-SENTENCE BEFORE SENTENCING?

Dr. William E. Hurwitz, 59, will be sent to prison for life on April
14, even if U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler doesn't give the
McLean pain doctor a life sentence.

"He is facing 20 years to life. Even if I want to be a nice guy, I
can't go under 20 years. With his age, that's a life sentence," Wexler
said Wednesday, March 23, during a two-hour court hearing at U.S.
District Court in Alexandria. More than 35 people who attended the
hearing, mostly members of Hurwitz's family and supporters, gasped as
Wexler made his comment. Hurwitz's attorneys, Marvin Miller and
Kenneth Wine, asked Wexler to release Hurwitz on bail, pending appeal,
while his case is ultimately decided in higher courts.

"Anyone who listened to this trial . realizes it's a very complex and
intricate legal case. This is not a typical drug case, this is not a
typical drug dealer," Wine said. "This man's entire life has been
devoted to helping people. . We ask [you] to grant bail pending appeal
and to let Dr. Hurwitz go home." U.S. Assistant Attorneys Eugene Rossi
and Mark Lytle objected to Hurwitz's motion, referring to Linda
Lalmond, a North Carolina resident who traveled to McLean after seeing
Hurwitz featured on "60 Minutes." She died on the second day she was
treated by Hurwitz.

"Linda Lalmond can not go home, she does not have that choice," Rossi
said. "He should be detained."

Judges have discretion to release convicted defendants until their
sentencing, Wexler said, if there is clear and convincing evidence
that the person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the
community. "I don't think he poses a danger to anyone," said Wexler,
but the judge did call Hurwitz a flight risk because of the doctor's
age and the sentence Wexler will be obligated to impose on Hurwitz in
three weeks. A jury convicted Hurwitz, who operated a high-profile
practice treating patients with chronic pain from his McLean office,
on 50 of 62 counts last December, including drug trafficking
conspiracy and drug trafficking resulting in deaths and serious bodily
injuries. The six-week trial included 76 witnesses - 63 for the
prosecution - and more than 1,000 exhibits. Hurwitz specialized in
treating patients with severe, chronic pain with high doses of
addictive opioid drugs including OxyContin. Some of Hurwitz's patients
were illegally selling some of the hundreds of thousands of pills the
doctor prescribed for them, and more than 15 of those drug dealers
testified against Hurwitz at his trial. There was no evidence that
Hurwitz profited from the illegal sales of drugs. Wine and Miller
maintain that Hurwitz practiced in "good faith" and they believe there
are a number of issues that could be reversed in the appeal process.
"It is beyond comprehension how a doctor without criminal intent .
acting in good faith belief that he or she is fulfilling a legitimate
medical need, can be convicted of a crime," Wine said.