Photo: Nicole Hester/AP/Shutterstock
RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse, has been found guilty on two charges in the death of 75-year-old patient Charlene Murphey, whom she administered the wrong medication to in December 2017.
A Nashville jury on Friday found Vaught, 38, guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult, according toNews Channel 5 Nashville. Vaught was facing a charge of reckless homicide, but the jury found her guilty on a lesser charge, per the outlet.
“RaDonda Vaught acted recklessly, and Charlene Murphey died as a result of that. RaDonda Vaught had a duty of care to Charlene Murphey and RaDonda Vaught neglected that. … The immutable fact of this case is that Charlene Murphey is dead because RaDonda Vaught couldn’t pay attention to what she was doing,” Assistant District Attorney Chadwick Jackson told the jury in closing arguments, theAssociated Pressreported.
Her sentencing is set for May 13, per local news stationWKRN.
Before the jury’s deliberation on Friday morning, Vaught said she was prepared for whatever outcome may happen.
“Knowing what I know now — even if the jury finds me guilty, even if Judge Smith decides that prison time is the appropriate sentencing for this and it’s the maximum amount of time — I have zero regrets about telling the truth,” she toldThe Tennessean.
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Over four years ago, Vaught withdrew a vial from an electronic medication cabinet, administered the drug to Murphey, and somehow overlooked signs of a deadly mistake.
Murphey, who was admitted to the hospital for a brain bleed and was being treated in the ICU, was supposed to get Versed, a sedative intended to calm her before being scanned in a large, MRI-like machine. However, Vaught accidentally grabbed vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer, which stopped the patient’s breathing and left her brain-dead before the error was discovered.
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source: people.com
