Heroic New Orleans doctor cleared

The New Orleans district attorney dropped all charges against a doctor accused of murdering four patients in the

Conditions in New Orleans hospitals after Katrina hit were terrible for healthcare workers and sick patients.

disastrous days of Hurricane Katrina. A grand jury refused to pursue charges of second-degree murder.

Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses—who were not indicted in return for their testimony—volunteered to stay with stranded patients in Memorial Medical Center after the levees broke. Eighty percent of the city was flooded. The medical center lost electricity and was flooded with 10 feet of water. Thirty-four people died—mostly from dehydration.

Louisiana’s Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr. spuriously claimed that four of the patients had been murdered by a combination of medications used to relieve pain. The Orleans Parish coroner declined to classify the deaths as homicides.

The prosecution of Dr. Pou and the nurses was a craven attempt to deflect the anger over the government’s inaction during Katrina. Earlier in July, 500 rallied in support of Dr. Pou.