Criminal proceedings can proceed in opposition to two former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home officers accused of negligence that led to the deaths of dozens of veterans early within the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s highest courtroom dominated Thursday.
In a 5-2 resolution that reversed a decrease courtroom’s dismissal of grand jury indictments, the Supreme Judicial Court stated prosecutors ought to have an opportunity to current their case at trial in opposition to Bennett Walsh, the ability’s former superintendent, and David Clinton, its former medical director.
Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote within the majority ruling that testimony offered to the grand jury “constituted probable cause to believe that the defendants violated the elder neglect statute” and concluded Superior Court Judge Edward McDonough “erred in dismissing the indictments” in November 2020.
Justices David Lowy and Elspeth Cypher dissented, with Lowy writing that there was “insufficient evidence before the grand jury to support a finding of probable cause that the defendants acted wantonly or recklessly, as required to support an indictment.”
Former Attorney General Maura Healey, who’s now governor, introduced the costs in opposition to Walsh and Clinton in September 2020, alleging that they made a collection of choices that ran counter to an infection management protocols and exacerbated COVID-19’s toll.
The lethal outbreak within the Holyoke facility rocked Massachusetts, prompting a collection of investigations and regulatory reforms.
– Chris Lisinski / SHNS |
Source: www.bostonherald.com”