Joseph Dewey Akin
Overview
Joseph Dewey Akin is a former nurse from Georgia who became the subject of one of the most widely publicized hospital death investigations in the southeastern United States during the early 1990s. Born in 1956 in Marietta, Georgia, Akin worked at several hospitals in Georgia and Alabama. Investigators and prosecutors alleged that he intentionally caused medical emergencies in patients under his care, particularly by administering drugs that could trigger cardiac distress. He became associated with a series of suspicious "Code Blue" incidents, a hospital term used when a patient suffers a life-threatening medical emergency requiring immediate resuscitation.
Although Akin was suspected in numerous patient deaths and medical emergencies, only one patient death resulted in criminal prosecution. Many of the other allegations were never formally charged, and investigators stated that proving homicide in hospital settings was difficult because many patients were already seriously ill.
Hospital Employment and Suspicious Incidents
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Akin worked at multiple medical facilities in Georgia and Alabama, including Grady Memorial Hospital, Georgia Baptist Hospital, North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, and Cooper Green Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
Investigators later focused on an unusual pattern of medical emergencies that allegedly occurred during Akin's shifts. Colleagues reported concerns about an increase in cardiac arrests and emergency resuscitation events when he was working. Authorities also investigated reports of missing cardiac medications and allegations that Akin appeared unusually interested in emergency situations.
At North Fulton Regional Hospital in Georgia, investigators examined at least 17 suspicious patient deaths and medical emergencies that occurred during the period Akin worked there in 1990. Despite extensive investigations by local authorities and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, no criminal charges were filed against him in Georgia.
The Death of Robert J. Price
The most significant case involving Akin concerned the death of Robert J. Price at Cooper Green Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
Price was a 32-year-old quadriplegic patient. Prosecutors alleged that Akin administered a lethal dose of lidocaine, a medication used to treat certain heart rhythm disorders. According to investigators, the drug caused a fatal cardiac event. Prosecutors argued that Akin intentionally induced medical crises because he enjoyed the excitement surrounding emergency resuscitation efforts.
A fellow nurse testified that she observed circumstances she considered suspicious shortly before Price suffered a medical emergency. The prosecution relied heavily on witness testimony and evidence that lidocaine was present in Price's body.
Akin's defense maintained that Price died from natural causes related to his severe medical condition and argued that any lidocaine found in his system could have been administered during legitimate attempts to revive him after his condition deteriorated.
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