Federal Court Rejects Appeal Of Convicted Pill Mill Doctor

A three judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has rejected appeals by a Chicago doctor sentenced to four life terms stemming from the painkiller overdose deaths of four patients. Paul Volkman was convicted last year for unlawfully distributing drugs at pill mills in southern Ohio. Volkman's challenged the judge's instructions to the jury, witness testimony on whether his actions had a legitimate medical purpose, other evidence and whether his sentences were reasonable. The panel says Volkman breached the prime directive of his profession to do no harm. Prosecutors say Volkman dispensed more oxycodone from 2003 through 2005 than any other physician in the nation.