Australian Court Clears US Doctor Of Patient Death

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – An American surgeon previously convicted of the manslaughter of three patients in Australia has been found not guilty of one of the deaths after Australia’s highest court ordered prosecutors to retry the case.

Jayant Patel, an Indian-born U.S. citizen, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2010 after being convicted of the manslaughter of three patients and causing grievous bodily harm to another. The accusations related to his work as a surgeon at a Queensland state hospital from 2003-2005.

Australia’s highest court threw out the conviction last year. Separate retrials were ordered for each charge.

On Wednesday, a Queensland Supreme Court jury found Patel not guilty of the 2003 death of Mervyn Morris. Prosecutors said Patel wrongly removed part of Morris’ colon. Patel argued the operation was necessary.