Gosnell rejects plea deal for federal drug charges

Kermit Gosnell is already serving three life sentences for delivering, then killing three babies at his former West Philadelphia abortion clinic. But he still has to answer to federal drug charges. At a hearing today, he entered a plea of not guilty. 

 Gosnell faces a slew of felony drug charges for allegedly prescribing powerful pain medication to patients without assessing their medical condition. Prosecutors accuse him of running a “pill mill.”

Gosnell’s lawyer, Jack McMahon, says Gosnell rejected a deal that would have tacked 20 years onto his sentence if he pleaded guilty.

The hearing was postponed a number of times because Gosnell needed time to decide, but at the last minute, he opted to reject the deal and plead not guilty.

McMahon says that since Gosnell is already serving three life sentences, it did not matter whether or not he took the deal. McMahon says his client believes he is innocent of some of the charges brought against him.

“I don’t think Dr. Gosnell believes he did nothing wrong here, but to the level of culpability that he has is somewhat problematical for him,” he said. 

Gosnell will stand trial on Sept. 9.