Anthrax Scientist's Attorneys Issue Press Release Asserting His Innocence
The suicide on Friday of Bruce Ivins, a biodefense researcher who worked for 18 years at the government’s biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Maryland, who was believed to be responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks, has made national headlines. The attacks killed 5 people, and a federal grand jury was to hold proceedings this week to indict Ivins--the fact which is believed to have prompted his suicide. Prosecutors had planned to seek the death penalty against Ivins.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ivins made death threats to his counselor, Jean Duley, who had been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. Ivins was committed to a psychiatric hospital in July, and was scheduled to appear in a Maryland court to repond to an application for prtective order by Duley. Duley's petition averred that Ivins had a history of homicidal threats to his therapists dating back to his days as a graduate student.
In the wake of Ivins suicide, his attorneys Paul F. Kemp and Thomas M. DeGonia of Venable, LLP, released a statement remarking that Ivins had fully cooperated in the government's investigation, citing his long career with the Department of the Army, and stating
"We are saddened by his death, and disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to defend his good name and reputation in a court of law. We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial. The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation. In Dr. Ivins’ case, it led to his untimely death..."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ivins made death threats to his counselor, Jean Duley, who had been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. Ivins was committed to a psychiatric hospital in July, and was scheduled to appear in a Maryland court to repond to an application for prtective order by Duley. Duley's petition averred that Ivins had a history of homicidal threats to his therapists dating back to his days as a graduate student.
In the wake of Ivins suicide, his attorneys Paul F. Kemp and Thomas M. DeGonia of Venable, LLP, released a statement remarking that Ivins had fully cooperated in the government's investigation, citing his long career with the Department of the Army, and stating
"We are saddened by his death, and disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to defend his good name and reputation in a court of law. We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial. The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation. In Dr. Ivins’ case, it led to his untimely death..."
