Benjamin Geen
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Geen is a former nurse convicted of murdering two patients and causing grievous bodily harm to 15 others while working at Horton General Hospital
in Banbury
, Oxfordshire
.
s for then-unknown reasons. While 15 patients recovered soon after, two patients died in January 2004: Anthony Bateman and David Onley. Geen, who was on duty during these incidents, was arrested on February 9, 2004, whereupon a syringe filled with a lethal dose of muscle relaxant was discovered in his pocket.
The hospital found 27 cases that Geen could have been involved in, though nine were discounted and Geen was acquitted
of one other case.
was told that Geen purposely used potentially lethal doses of drugs to cause patients to stop breathing because he enjoyed the thrill of resuscitating them. He was found guilty in April 2006, and given 17 life sentences. The trial judge recommended that he should spend at least 30 years in prison before being considered for parole
. This recommendation is likely to keep him behind bars until at least 2035.
A leading medical statistician, Prof Jane Hutton, submitted that the Crown's central evidence - that there had been an 'unusual' pattern of illnesses - was of 'no value' because no statistical modelling had been done to show that the pattern was unusual. She found the 'pattern' method to be at grave risk of bias.
Dr Mark Heath, a consultant anaesthesiologist who has testified in US supreme court cases, found the pattern of patient collapses to be totally inconsistent with the drugs Geen was said to have injected in seven cases. Rather than passing out, patients injected with muscle relaxants as the crown stated would be paralysed, unable to breathe but totally conscious and terrified.
Other doctors came forward who decided that the cause of death in Mr Onley, a gravely ill patient who Geen was alleged to have killed, was not a heart attack triggered by respiratory arrest but liver failure.
Mark McDonald, Geen's barrister, has stated that he believes the case against Geen was the product of a "witch-hunt" in a health service terrified of a repeat of the case of Dr Harold Shipman.
A first Appeal failed in November 2009. In February 2010, lawyers submitted Geen's case to the Criminal Case Review Commission and a public campaign was launched.
Horton General Hospital
The Horton General Hospital is a National Health Service run hospital, located on the Oxford Road, in the Calthorpe ward of Banbury. The hospital has 236 beds and was founded in 1872 by Mary-Ann Horton...
in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
Crime
Between December 2003 and February 2004, at least 17 patients suffered respiratory arrestRespiratory arrest
Respiratory arrest is the cessation of breathing. It is a medical emergency and it usually is related to or coincides with a cardiac arrest. Causes include opiate overdose, head injury, anaesthesia, tetanus, or drowning...
s for then-unknown reasons. While 15 patients recovered soon after, two patients died in January 2004: Anthony Bateman and David Onley. Geen, who was on duty during these incidents, was arrested on February 9, 2004, whereupon a syringe filled with a lethal dose of muscle relaxant was discovered in his pocket.
The hospital found 27 cases that Geen could have been involved in, though nine were discounted and Geen was acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
of one other case.
Trial
During his trial, the Oxford Crown CourtCrown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
was told that Geen purposely used potentially lethal doses of drugs to cause patients to stop breathing because he enjoyed the thrill of resuscitating them. He was found guilty in April 2006, and given 17 life sentences. The trial judge recommended that he should spend at least 30 years in prison before being considered for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. This recommendation is likely to keep him behind bars until at least 2035.
Appeal
Geen's case was reviewed by lawyers and volunteers from the London Innocence Project. The review found a number of flaws in the original trial, and lawyers came to the conclusion that Geen was "the victim of a major miscarriage of justice."A leading medical statistician, Prof Jane Hutton, submitted that the Crown's central evidence - that there had been an 'unusual' pattern of illnesses - was of 'no value' because no statistical modelling had been done to show that the pattern was unusual. She found the 'pattern' method to be at grave risk of bias.
Dr Mark Heath, a consultant anaesthesiologist who has testified in US supreme court cases, found the pattern of patient collapses to be totally inconsistent with the drugs Geen was said to have injected in seven cases. Rather than passing out, patients injected with muscle relaxants as the crown stated would be paralysed, unable to breathe but totally conscious and terrified.
Other doctors came forward who decided that the cause of death in Mr Onley, a gravely ill patient who Geen was alleged to have killed, was not a heart attack triggered by respiratory arrest but liver failure.
Mark McDonald, Geen's barrister, has stated that he believes the case against Geen was the product of a "witch-hunt" in a health service terrified of a repeat of the case of Dr Harold Shipman.
A first Appeal failed in November 2009. In February 2010, lawyers submitted Geen's case to the Criminal Case Review Commission and a public campaign was launched.