Lawmakers and Victims Fight to Keep Felon Pharmacist in Prison

Members of Congress and victims have come together to protest former pharmacist Robert Courtney’s release from prison and move to home confinement.

The Crimes

In 2002, an investigation revealed that Dr Courtney had been diluting at least 72 different drugs, including treatments for cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. In some cases, patients received as little as 1% of the dose prescribed.

In 2002, the Missouri pharmacist pleaded guilty to diluting the prescription medications of 4200 patients from 400 doctors. As many as 98 000 prescriptions were affected. At the time, the pharmacist told prosecutors that he had diluted the drugs to pay a $600 000 tax bill and a pledge to his church. This act resulted in an enormous amount of patient harm and spurred hundreds of wrongful death lawsuits. Dr Courtney was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his crimes.

Victims Object

In the spring of 2024, victims’ families began receiving notices that Dr Courtney was going to be transferred from prison to a halfway house in June, and then moved to home confinement in July. The notice also indicated that Dr Courtney would be released completely in May 2026, several years earlier than his full sentence. The decision was allegedly made due to Courtney’s poor health and the minimal chance of his recidivation. However, victims and their family members have been extremely vocal in protesting the release. The daughter of one of the victims has launched a Change.org petition to oppose Dr Courtney’s release.

A similar decision to release the pharmacist in 2020 was squashed after victims and politicians loudly protested his release.

Members of Congress Weigh In

Two Missouri congressmen, Rep Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Sam Graves (R-MO), sent a letter to the US Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, opposing the pharmacist’s release and asking that he serve his full sentence. They included a page of devastating victim-impact statements (Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Sam Graves (R-MO), April 23, 2024).

“Robert Courtney’s violent crimes were heinous—as the heart-wrenching victim impact statements enclosed detail,” wrote the Congressmen. “To this day, it’s difficult to find anyone in the region that hasn’t been impacted, who didn’t have a family member, friend, or loved-one stolen from them too soon by [Dr] Courtney. Through fraud and deceit, he stole precious time from so many. The damage he inflicted on those who trusted him for medical care through his wanton acts of violence for personal gain is immeasurable.”

“As penance for his crimes, [Dr] Courtney should serve no less than the entirety of his sentence behind bars,” concluded the Congressmen. The Congressmen referred to the 2020 attempt to release the pharmacist because of concerns about his health and noted “[Dr] Courtney had no such concern for the health of the patients under his care.”

Reference

Prevent the early release of Robert Courtney from prison. Change.org. April 15, 2024. Accessed May 31, 2024. https://www.change.org/p/prevent-the-early-release-of-robert-courtney-from-prison