Baldi, acquitted on all charges, wants to return to work

Prosecutors failed to prove that Daniel Baldi was a reckless doctor whose prescriptions caused patients' deaths, jurors decided Thursday.

The Des Moines pain-management specialist was acquitted of seven counts of involuntary manslaughter in what was believed to be the first case of its kind in Iowa courts.

Jurors deliberated for two days before siding with Baldi, whose lawyer contended that none of the patients in question died from overdoses of drugs the doctor prescribed.

Michelle Burgan of Des Moines, a longtime Baldi patient who attended most of the 2 1/2-week trial, said afterward that the criminal charges were "utter nonsense. It was ridiculousness at its height. Unfathomable."

Burgan said Baldi was a careful physician who always took steps to ensure she wasn't abusing her medications.

Prosecutors contended that Baldi caused the deaths by recklessly prescribing powerful medications, including to patients who clearly were addicted. But defense lawyer Guy Cook pressed his contention that tests done after each death showed that none of the patients had high levels of Baldi-prescribed drugs in their systems. Experts for the defense also testified that three of the patients probably died of heart problems, and that another apparently committed suicide.

Some of the prosecution witnesses seemed to bolster the defense. For example, Des Moines psychiatrist Shehzad Kamran testified early in the trial that he, not Baldi, had prescribed the type of sttimulant and anti-anxiety medications that patient Brandy Stoutenberg overdosed on.

Baldi didn't testify. After the verdicts were read, he spoke briefly to reporters outside the courthouse. "I can turn this chapter over and start another part of my life," he said. He said he hoped to resume practicing medicine someday.

"We've got some other chapters to take care of. … I love practicing. I love medicine. And I love everything that's associated with it."

Baldi, 51, has not practiced medicine since 2012. He still faces several malpractice lawsuits, including from survivors of some of the patients at the center of the criminal trial. He also faces administrative charges from the Iowa Board of Medicine, which could suspend or revoke his medical license.

Cook said that hundreds of former patients were prepared to testify on Baldi's behalf, but the defense decided to focus instead on the weakness of the prosecution's case. When the trial began, Baldi faced nine charges of involuntary manslaughter. Polk County District Associate Judge Gregory Brandt dismissed two of the charges after the prosecution finished presenting its side of the case. Such a move is rare so early in a trial, but Brandt said the prosecution hadn't presented enough evidence for the jury to consider on those two charges.

Before jurors began deliberating on the remaining seven charges, the judge told them that to find Baldi guilty, they would have to determine the doctor did more than make mistakes. The judge said the prosecution had to prove Baldi caused the deaths by practicing medicine so recklessly that he should have known he most likely would kill someone.

Alternate juror gives his take

Tom Stegman of West Des Moines, who was an alternate juror in the trial, said prosecutors never got close to clearing that hurdle. Stegman said that after a few days of listening to the prosecution's case against Baldi, "I didn't understand why he was even on trial. … I was always waiting for a smoking gun of some sort. It never appeared."

Stegman, a multimedia designer for The Des Moines Register, was one of four people who served on the jury panel through all the testimony and arguments, then were told Tuesday that they were alternate jurors who would not take part in the deliberations. He predicted before the verdict was announced Thursday that Baldi would be acquitted. He said one of the defense's strongest points was Cook's repeated contention that patients are responsible for following their doctors' advice and taking their medication properly.

Stegman said the closest call among the seven charges involved the 2010 death of Kathleen Cronkwright, who used an implanted pump to deliver painkilling medication directly to her spine. Experts testifying for the prosecution blamed her death on Baldi, who set Cronkwright's pump to deliver medication that was 1,000 times stronger than what she had been receiving.

But experts for the defense said that the earlier setting was extremely low; that the pump probably hadn't even started delivering medication to her spine when she died later that day; and that she most likely died from a heart problem. Stegman said he concluded that even if Baldi did cause Cronkwright's death, it was an accident, not a crime.

In her closing argument Tuesday, Assistant Polk County Attorney Jaki Livingston told jurors that Baldi showed "reckless, willful, wanton disregard for safety. … That's why he's guilty." Prosectuors contended Baldi caused the deaths by the general way he treated patients and ran the pain clinic. But they presented little testimony about how the pain clinic operated before it closed in 2012. After the not-guilty verdict was announced, Livingston and her fellow prosecutor left the courthouse without comment.

Baldi was greeted with hugs and tears from relatives, friends and former patients.

One of the well-wishers was Burgan, who had used a cane to limp her way into the courtroom on most days of the trial. The Des Moines woman, who suffers from severe degenerative back problems, brought a pillow to cushion her body from the courtroom's wooden benches, and she often winced as she shifted her weight during the trial.

Burgan, 51, leaned on her cane after the verdict and explained why she spent scores of hours listening to testimony and arguments about her former physician.

"I could think of no other place to be," she said. "Dr. Baldi has always offered me so much kindness and so much compassion."

She said she has struggled to find comparable care for her pain since Baldi stopped practicing. She suspects other doctors are afraid to prescribe sufficient medication, for fear that they could face the same kind of ordeal Baldi has endured. She said she hopes Baldi is able to resume his work someday.

"If he does, and if he practices anywhere in the Des Moines area, I'll go to him," she said.

Reporter Katherine Klingseis contributed to this article.