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CNN Live Today

Mercy Killings?; Driven to Extremes

Aired October 13, 2005 - 11:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(NEWSBREAK)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, they were just doing their jobs. Those are the words for the attorney from the New Orleans police officers charged in that videotaped beating. Attorney Frank Desalvo says the police officers acted within proper police procedures in trying to restrain 64-year-old Robert Davis. Davis has pleaded not guilty to being drunk and resisting arrest. The officers had pleaded not guilty to battery. In an exchange with Miles O'Brien on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," the officer's lawyer admitted it is a tough case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK DESALVO, ATTORNEY: If it wasn't a tough case, they wouldn't need me. This is what I do. And I can tell you, we've done this for 30 years. That was the first time I've ever seen a chief of police come out and make a statement he made without due process, without a full investigation, without talking to any of the witnesses, and just making a statement like that. I believe that came from higher up than him, and I think it was political.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: What do you mean by that? Who? Why?

DESALVO: Somebody -- well, there's only one person that's above the chief. I think that for political reasons they had to make these statements.

M. O'BRIEN: What's the political reason?

DESALVO: Well, let's see if I can nail it down for you as best I can. They got a lot of bad publicity recently about the way they handled this storm and post-Katrina. I think the focus is off of them right now.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're saying clients are scapegoats?

DESALVO: These guys were doing their jobs.

M. O'BRIEN: They were doing their jobs, and they're scapegoats?

DESALVO: They were doing their job. They were doing their job.

You know, let me say this to you, this man was -- he was stumbling drunk. He was so drunk he stumbled into a horse.

M. O'BRIEN: No, he says he hasn't had a drink in 25 years. There was no toxicology tests. You can't say that. You don't have any proof.

DESALVO: Well, I can -- I've got plenty of proof, plenty of proof.

M. O'BRIEN: Why didn't they do a blood test?

DESALVO: Because they're not authorized to do a blood test under the law. Louisiana law only allow them to force a blood test when you have a driving while intoxicated, when there's an accident with a serious bodily injury or death. That's the law. I didn't write it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: A January trial date is scheduled for the officers and the beating victim.

Hurricane Katrina brought desperate days to New Orleans. We saw people begging and pleading, even looting to live. Did desperation go too far?

CNN's Jonathan Freed takes a look at serious allegations at one city hospital, and this is a story you will only see on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was no power. Patients and staff thought they were stranded in 110-degree sweltering heat. It was desperate.

DR. BRYANT KING, PRACTICED AT MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: I was really upset that it had come to this. And we were -- we were a hospital, but we weren't really functioning as a hospital. We were functioning as a shelter at this point.

FRAN BUTLER, NURSE MANAGER, MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: It was battle conditions. I mean, it was as bad as being out on the field.

FREED: They were running out of food and water. Workers carried patients into the parking garage to wait for evacuations, but there were too few rescuers and often too late.

KING: There's no electricity. There's no water. It's hot. I mean, people are dying. We thought it was as bad as it could get. All we wanted to know is, why aren't we being evacuated yet? That was our biggest thing. We should be gone by now.

FREED: Nine days after the hospital was finally emptied, there were dozens of bodies -- in the morgue, in the hallways and in the chapel. In all, hospital officials now say 45 bodies were found at Memorial.

Some patients, already near death when Katrina hit, may have succumbed to their ailments. Others may have given in to the terrible conditions.

(on camera): But a CNN investigation reveals that doctors and nurses grew so desperate that some of them openly and repeatedly discussed euthanizing patients whom they believed would not survive their ordeal. So desperate, there was talk of mercy killings, talk of mercy killings by health professionals as a serious option at an American hospital.

BUTLER: My nurses wanted to know, what was the plan? Did they say to put people out of their misery? Yes. Did they say to actually -- they wanted to know how to get them out of their misery.

FREED (voice-over): To be clear, Butler says she did not see anyone perform a mercy killing. And she says, because of her personal beliefs, she never would have participated.

But at least one doctor there, Bryant King, is convinced it went beyond just talk.

KING: Most people know that something -- something happened that shouldn't have happened.

FREED: What Dr. King says he witnessed is a key element of an investigation by the Louisiana attorney general. The state constitution expressly forbids euthanasia. And prosecutors say charges could include manslaughter.

In exclusive interviews with CNN, Dr. King says he was approached at about 9:00 a.m. on Thursday in the despair three days after the hurricane by another doctor. According to King, that doctor recounted a conversation with a hospital administrator and another doctor, who suggested that patients be put out of their misery.

KING: I mean, you've got to be (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kidding me, that you actually think that that's a good idea. I mean, how could you possibly think that that's a good idea?

And she said, well, you know, we talked about it, and this other doctor said she'd be willing to -- she would be willing to do it. And I was like, you're crazy!

FREED: King says, at the time, he dismissed the talk, because the doctor who had told him of the mercy-killing conversation indicated that, like him, she opposed it.

(on camera): Then, about three hours later, King says he noticed an uneasy quiet. The triage area, where he was working, on the second floor had been cleared of everyone, except for patients, a second hospital administrator and two doctors, including the one who had first raised the question of mercy killing.

(voice-over): King says the administrator asked if they wanted to join in prayer, something they hadn't done since the ordeal began.

KING: Well, I looked around. And one of the other physicians, not the one who had the conversation with me, but another, had a handful of syringes. I don't know what's in the syringes. I don't know what's -- and the only thing I heard her say is, "I'm going to give you something to make you feel better." I don't know what she was going to give them. But we hadn't been given -- we hadn't been giving medications like that to make people feel better or any sort of palliative care or anything like that. We hadn't been doing that up to this point.

FREED: King says he decided he would have no part of what he was seeing. He grabbed his bag to leave. And he says, one of the other doctors hugged him.

King says he doesn't know what happened next. He boarded a boat and left the hospital.

As for nurse manager Fran Butler, she says she never saw any patients euthanized. However, she said the physician who had expressed opposition to euthanasia to Dr. King also spoke to her about it.

BUTLER: She was the first person to approach me about putting patients to sleep.

FREED (on camera): Were you stunned?

BUTLER: Just kind of -- I kind of blew it off because of the person who said it. But when this doctor approached me about that, she made the comment to me on how she was totally against it and wouldn't do it.

FREED (voice-over): Tenet Healthcare, the company that owns Memorial, told CNN that many of the 45 patients who died were critically ill.

Tenet said, as many as 11 patients who were found in the morgue had died the weekend before the hurricane. Twenty-four of the dead had been patients of a long-term acute care facility known as LifeCare that rented space inside Memorial.

KING: And there was only one person that died overnight. The previous day, there were only two. So, for there to be -- from Thursday to Friday for there to be 10 times that many just doesn't make sense to me.

FREED: Earlier this month, King repeated his account to investigators from the attorney general's office. At the request of the attorney general, coroner Frank Minyard is performing autopsies and drug screens on all the Memorial dead.

He confirmed to CNN that state officials have told him they think euthanasia may have been committed.

DR. FRANK MINYARD, CORONER, ORLEANS PARISH: Well, they thought that someone had -- was going around, injecting people with some sort of lethal medication, yes.

FREED: Minyard says that because of the condition of the bodies it may be difficult to determine why so many patients died at Memorial. In early October, Tenet Healthcare said that the state had executed search warrants of Memorial Medical Center records and at the independent LifeCare facility operated inside the hospital.

Over the course of several weeks, CNN has reached the three people King says were in the second-floor area with him at the time he saw the syringes. The hospital administrator told CNN, "I don't recall being in a room with patients or saying a prayer," later adding that King must be lying.

The doctor King identifies as having first broached the subject of euthanasia with him said she would not talk to the media. The doctor King alleges held the syringes spoke by phone with CNN on several occasions, emphasizing how everyone inside the hospital felt abandoned.

"We did everything humanly possible to save these patients," the doctor told CNN. "The government totally abandoned us to die, in the houses, in the streets, in the hospitals. Maybe a lot of us made mistakes, but we made the best decisions we could at the time."

When told about King's allegation, this doctor responded that she would not comment either way.

Nurse manager Fran Butler says that, while some nurses did discuss euthanasia, they never stopped caring for the patients.

BUTLER: The people who were still there, they really and truly took and put their heart and souls into every patient, whether that patient lived or died.

FREED: For his part, King regrets leaving the hospital and wonders whether there was anything he could have done.

KING: I'd rather be considered a person who abandoned patients than someone who aided in eliminating patients.

FREED (on camera): The two health care companies we mentioned in this piece both chose to give CNN prepared statements.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation said, "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the physicians and staff at Memorial Medical Center performed heroically to save the lives of their patients under incredibly difficult circumstances."

The statement goes on to say: "We understand that the Louisiana attorney general is investigating all deaths that occurred at New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes after the hurricane. And we fully support and are cooperating with him."

Now, LifeCare, the long-term acute care facility, said: "LifeCare employees at Memorial Medical Center during that week exhibited heroism under the most difficult of circumstances. LifeCare is not aware of any discussions involving euthanasia at Memorial Medical Center."

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We've got much more new ahead, so, please, stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: They are fast and furious on the track, and the physical demands of NASCAR racing has more drivers focusing on fitness off the track.

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has details in his series, "Driven to Extremes."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even if he's not driving, Carl Edwards likes to keep his heart racing with a mix of cardio and weights, seven days a week.

CARL EDWARDS, NASCAR DRIVER: No place like Bristol. I know we've gone for like 250 laps before without stopping. And that is intense. I mean, you're breathing heavy, your heart's beating, and it's the same as going on a long run or a bicycle ride or something like that. It's hard core.

GUPTA: How hardcore? Well, a study found racecar drivers on an oval track like NASCAR's sustained heart rates of 120 to 150 beats per minute, about the same level as a serious marathon runner for about the same length of time.

Research into car racing also shows that aerobic and resistance training helps drivers handle the G-forces. One of the pioneers of this fitness boom, Edwards' team and mentor, Mark Martin. He began working out seriously in 1988. Martin, who wrote the book "NASCAR for Dummies," says there are three benefits: drivers suffer fewer injuries because their muscles protect their bones and internal organs, the drivers are better able to handle the intense heat in the car, 120 degrees or hotter, because they start with a lower pulse, a strong upper body helps a driver steer better when the car is not handling well.

Fitness routines and special diets now abound among NASCAR drivers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I get older, I find I need to do more things to stay in shape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Light weights and reps, a lot of reps, so that I can have some strength and some muscle mass for a crash or impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I run a marathon in January. I'm planning to run another marathon this summer -- or this winter some time.

GUPTA: Of course not all drivers have joined in the fitness craze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Channel up, channel down. Volume up, volume down. That's about the extent of my fitness routine.

GUPTA: In the long run, Edwards is convinced being fit will have him in victory lane more often, jumping for joy.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So get ready for the ride Sunday evening at 10:00 Eastern. CNN is going to bring you a Dr. Sanjay Gupta primetime special, "NASCAR: DRIVEN TO EXTREMES."

But before that, check in at cnn.com/driven. That's available. A story right there. In the meantime, checking the bond market for a new leading man.

Up next, the latest buzz in Britain over who's on tap to play 007.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, here are the stories making news overseas this morning.

The U.S. secretary of state visited Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in central Asia today. Condoleezza Rice knocked down suggestions the U.S. doesn't press democracy in the region. Both countries have strong-handed leaders and have been slow to embrace Western ideals. Rice denies the primary U.S. interests in the region are oil and military bases. Democracy, she indicates, comes first.

And the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature goes today to British playwright, poet and director Harold Pinter. His plays include "The Caretaker," "The Dumb Waiter," and "Ashes to Ashes." In recent years, Pinter has become a fierce critic of NATO and the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And ever since Sean Connery took the persona in 1962, James Bond has had dark hair. But that might change tomorrow when the sixth Bond is revealed. Tabloids say British actor Daniel Craig, a blond, will get the spy role. Of course, there's always hair dye.

Straight ahead, we are live from New York with the New York Stock Exchange report, for a quick check on the markets. We'll see you right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW" HOST: Here's the brand new iPod. Look at this. Look at this amazing feature. And you see -- you see what it says there? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it have?

LETTERMAN: All songs played simultaneously.

(MUSIC)

LETTERMAN: Crazy!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LIN: Well, New Orleans' residents are just starting the arduous task of rebuilding their city. And many are wondering, what will the new New Orleans look like? Well, we put that question up on our Web site. And here's what you had to say.

For example, this viewer says: "New Orleans doesn't need to be rebuilt. That overstates the issue dramatically. But if we are to repair New Orleans, then we must do so beyond the physical damage and the resulting flooding and looting. New Orleans must be repaired socially, financially and environmentally, as well. Otherwise, New Orleans will not be able to weather the next storm." That is from Jeffrey Salazar in San Marcos, California.

And this from Sofia in Bakersfield, California: "Maybe not the same, but why not New Orleans rebuilt with safer levees and seawalls? New Orleans should be as colorful as ever, but with far, far less poverty and a better police force. We need New Orleans. It's our number one port, the third largest port in the world. How can we do without it?"

Our thanks to our viewers.

CNN LIVE TODAY continues right after a break.

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