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Jurors Set to Hear Closing Arguments Today in Professor’s Plague Trial
Jurors are expected today to hear closing arguments in the case of Texas Tech University professor Thomas Butler, who faces almost 70 charges, including making misleading statements to FBI agents about the fate of vials of plague samples in a January incident, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Nov. 10). In January, Butler reported that 30 vials of plague samples were missing and presumed stolen from his university laboratory. Butler later signed a statement, however, saying that he had destroyed the vials and had misled federal agents. Prosecutors in the case have said that Butler reported the vials as stolen because of a conflict he was having with Texas Tech’s Institutional Review Board, which oversees studies involving humans, according to AP. Butler could face almost 470 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines if convicted on all counts. He is likely to receive a lesser sentence, however, under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted. Butler testified yesterday that he had no memory of destroying the vials and only said he had done so after an FBI agent had convinced him. “He convinced me it happened, even though I didn’t remember destroying them,” Butler said. “He wanted the concept, ‘I had made a mistake,’” Butler said (Betsy Blaney, Associated Press/Dallas Star-Telegram, Nov. 25).
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