Illinois medics charged in patient's killing bound for trial
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois judge ruled Friday that two emergency medical professionals should face first-degree murder charges after a patient they strapped facedown to a stretcher suffocated.
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow bound Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan over for trial following a 3 1/2-hour preliminary hearing rife with defense objections and ridicule of the state's claims. Prosecutors charged the pair on Jan. 9 in the death of 35-year-old Earl Moore.
Finley and Cadigan were summoned Dec. 18 to Moore's Springfield apartment. Police body camera video shows the officers trying to get Moore to his feet to walk out the door for medical assistance and then placing him in a prone position on the gurney. Cadigan, an emergency medical technician, then strapped him in while Finley, a paramedic, put a blanket over him.
As the defendants entered the courtroom, Finley saw seven family members sitting in the front row. She took a seat at the defense table and with tears streaming down her face looked at her family and mouthed “I’m sorry.” Family members declined to comment to The Associated Press.
An autopsy revealed that Moore died of “positional asphyxiation” and that he had two broken ribs, which State’s Attorney Dan Wright attributed to his being strapped in so tightly facedown. Finley later told hospital officials and an investigator that Moore had been combative.
“There’s no medical reason to transport someone in a prone position,” Wright said.
Referring to Springfield police bodycam video, he continued, “Clearly, Mr. Moore is not combative. He was the complete opposite of combative. He needed help. For them to cover themselves by telling hospital staff that he was combative goes to their credibility.”
Under Illinois law, a...