all three nurses for criminally negligent homicide. Under Colorado state law, criminal negligence occurs “when there is a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise and when that person fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result will occur or that a circumstance exists.” Recently, the nurse practitioner and staff nurse accepted a plea arrangement that keeps their records clear of negligent homicide charges if they stay out of legal trouble for two years, and the jury acquitted the primary nurse.Advocates of criminal charges say nurses should be held accountable for their actions. They argue that charging nurses protects the public from future harm. Robert Grant, the district attorney of Colorado, states that the board of nursing has nothing to do with public accountability and that his office deals with criminal standards, not professional standards. Before the case was tried, Grant wrote a letter to the nursing community stating, “Nurses do not need to fear being prosecuted for simple mistakes. However, if their care falls to the level of criminal negligence, such as when a doctor’s orders regarding the route of administration are knowingly changed without authorization, leading to deadly consequences, they cannot expect to be immune from responsibility.”Opponents of criminal charges against nurses agree with Grant in that nurses need to be held responsible for their mistakes and in protecting the public. However, many feel that the state boards of nursing are the best way to protect the interests of both nurses and the public. The American Nurses Association (ANA) argues that nursing boards are uniquely qualified to evaluate nurses’ performance, especially since their members and staff are usually nurses. Gerri Marulio, MSN, RN, executive director of the ANA at the time, states that boards of nursing “can fit the punishm...
