Not a true bill.

A grand jury in New Orleans has refused to bring murder charges against Doctor Pau. She and two nurses had been arrested following Hurricane Katrina for deaths of patients under their care.

Thirty-four patients were reported to have died before the evacuation of the eight-story, 317-bed Napoleon Avenue facility, which became an island surrounded by 15 feet of floodwater. Although it was envisioned as a haven, the hospital lost electricity and became sweltering as the temperature inside hit 110 degrees.

State Attorney General Charles Foti accused them of murder in the deaths of nine patients in LifeCare Hospital, a section of the medical center reserved for frail patients. Foti contended they had administered lethal injections of painkillers and sedatives.

I’m hoping the grand jury decision will close this dark chapter, although the bluster by Foti doesn’t instill much confidence. These women were heroes. In the hours following the storm and the breaking of the levees, they stood alone in a ward of critical patients, most of them needing life support to survive. With no electricity, there was no life support. Some nurses were stuck in the stairwell leading to the roof for hours, hand-pumping ventilators until they were too exhausted to go on anymore.  The patients themselves were struggling, suffering and dying.

Unlike others who fled, these three women stayed and offered what mercy they could. They never should have been arrested and criminal charges should never have leveled against them.

I’m with Pau that the slow Federal and state response to the storm led to the tragedy.  Her actions only mitigated things.