State News
Nurse charged in killing patient released from jail
LEXINGTON — A nurse charged with murdering a patient at a veterans’ hospital was ordered released Wednesday, but under house arrest and electronically monitored pending trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James Todd said 32-year-old Maria Kelly Whitt would remain in the custody of her mother Bonnie Whitt of Mount Sterling. Todd’s ruling came after a two-part hearing concerning the September 2007 death of 90-year-old World War II veteran Jesse Chain and whether Whitt was a danger to others if released.
Prosecutors say Whitt gave Chain a series of morphine injections while he was at the Lexington Veterans’ Administration Hospital. Prosecutors say those injections led to Chain’s death.
Whitt, whose nursing license was suspended on Tuesday has pleaded not guilty. A grand jury indicted her earlier this month and her trial is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West said prosecutors will not ask for the death penalty if Whitt is convicted.
“We’ve not sought that,” West said. “We will not seek that.”
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Special Agent Rick Ellison testified Wednesday that Whitt admitted giving Chain a series of at least six 10 milligram morphine shots within a period of just a few hours.
Whitt told investigators that she was trying to render Chain unconscious in his last hours of life so she could better tend to the other patients in her care, Ellison said.
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt any patient in any way,” Ellison quoted Whitt as saying. “I thought I was doing it to help make him comfortable.”
Ellison also testified that Whitt told a Secret Service agent she was “overwhelmed” and “overworked” the day Chain died, even though duty records show she was carrying the same two- to three-patient load as the other nurses.
Whitt’s attorney, Patrick Nash, said Lexington police initially said the case was not a homicide. Federal criminal investigators became involved two months later when the Fayette County coroner ruled the death a homicide, Nash said.
“There were several points in this case where this was not a murder,” Nash said.
Nash also argued that Chain was given only hours to live the day he died and that no independent reviewer has looked over the medical equipment and records involved in the case.
“It’s a complicated case,” Nash said.
West said the case is simple — Whitt overdosed a dying man to free up time to care for other patients.
“She made a conscious, deliberate and intentional choice to cause the death of Mr. Chain,” West said.
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House passes $17.5B budget
The outcome was never in doubt and after three hours and 24 speeches the House passed its version of a $17.5 billion, project-filled, debt-laden two-year budget 65-33.
There are schools, water and sewer projects and roads for those who voted with Democratic leadership on the plan but there’s less money for education at all levels, cuts to corrections which may hit county jails hardest and few capital projects in Republican districts. One Republican, Rep. Jim Stewart of Flat Lick voted for the measure while one Democrat, Jim Wayne of Louisville voted against it. Stewart voted last week for a $371 million revenue package and he received the only major project in a Republican district. -
Ky. Senate panel OKs bill to spur organ donations
A Kentucky advocate for organ donations predicted that a bill advanced by a Senate panel Wednesday will spur more donations leading to lifesaving transplants.
The bill updates procedures for Kentuckians to make, alter or revoke wishes to make anatomical gifts. They could also expressly state they don’t wish to be donors. -
Proposed budget clears House panel
A Kentucky House committee approved a proposed $17.5 billion two-year state budget Tuesday night that includes cuts to higher education and seeks to trim the prison population by increasing use of parole for some nonviolent criminals to squeeze savings.
The spending blueprint proposes about $1.3 billion in general fund bonding for construction projects aimed at creating thousands of jobs at a time of stubbornly high unemployment. -
Bill opponents to miss out on school projects
Kentucky House members who opposed a revenue measure linked to balancing the next state budget will be empty-handed when school construction projects are doled out as part of the spending plan, Speaker Greg Stumbo said Monday.
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Bill would require treatment for addicted pregnant women
There they sat, the ACLU, Right to Life and criminal defense attorneys side by side, taking the same position on legislation, strange bedfellows all opposed to a measure to test pregnant women for substance abuse.
House Bill 430, sponsored by Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville, would create the offense of alcohol or controlled substance endangerment of a child prior to birth and permit a court to sentence the pregnant mother to treatment for up to six months. -
Activists, some lawmakers try again to cap payday lender interest
Tammy Taylor was short of cash, so she resorted to a payday lender to get by. She thought it was a short-term fix, but she says it ended up costing her $42,000 over seven years and led her to file for bankruptcy. She typically took out multiple loans at one time holding as many as five, which cost her about $500 a month in interest.
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House Democrats, Beshear look for ‘common ground’ on budget
House Democratic leaders met with Gov. Steve Beshear for about 45 minutes Monday afternoon to see if they can work together on a plan to balance a state budget facing more than a $1.4 billion shortfall for the next two years.
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Beshear budget gets cool reception
Gov. Steve Beshear stunned many lawmakers Tuesday night by proposing to balance the next two-year budget with $780 million of revenue from video lottery terminals at race tracks – a proposal that has failed in the past and prospects for which look bleak now.
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Revenue forecasts still call for major shortfall next two years
Even when it is good news on the fiscal front in Frankfort, it still is bad news.
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Beshear says position on constitutional amendment consistent
When he ran for governor in 2007, Steve Beshear said he wanted the voters of Kentucky to have the chance to vote for or against expanded gambling. But now, Gov. Steve Beshear says a constitutional amendment is not necessary to pass legislation authorizing video lottery terminals at existing horse tracks.
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House passes $17.5B budget
