Dr. John Emewulu Okonkwo

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Charge:	Medical Negligence
Sentence:	Suspended 6 months from practice as doctor
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1991
Year Convicted:	1993
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Nigeria
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Onitsha
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Dr. John Emewulu Okonkwo was wrongly convicted in 1993 of medically megligent conduct for respecting the wishes of a female Jehovah Witness patient not to be given a blood transfusion, who subsequently died. Okonkwo was charged with medical negligence for failing to administer a life-saving measure to his patient. After Okonkwo's conviction by a medical board panel he was sentenced to six months suspension of his medical license. Okonkwo appealed, and the Court of Appeals overturned his conviction. The medical board appealed that ruling. On March 2, 2001 Nigeria's Supreme Court affirmed the appeals court's ruling vacating Okonkwo's conviction, in an opinion by S.C. Justice Emmanuel Ayoola that stated ‘’where a patient refuses medical treatment for religious reasons the professional capacity of the practitioner is not called into question by that fact alone.’’ The Supreme Court also awarded Okonkwo N10,000 in costs."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous legal standard by the trial court.
Innocence Proved By:	"On March 2, 2001 the Supreme Court affirmed the appeals court's ruling vacating Okonkwo's conviction, in an opinion by S.C. Justice Emmanuel Ayoola that stated ‘’where a patient refuses medical treatment for religious reasons the professional capacity of the practitioner is not called into question by that fact alone.’’"
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Sex:	Male
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Information Source 1:	"Why S’Court quashed doctor’s conviction by medical tribunal, By Francis Famoroti (Judiciary staff writer), National Mirror, June 30, 2014"
Information Location 1:	http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/why-scourt-quashed-doctors-conviction-by-medical-tribunal/
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Go to Database Search Page

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Dr. John Emewulu Okonkwo

Charge:

Medical Negligence

Sentence:

Suspended 6 months from practice as doctor

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1991

Year Convicted:

1993

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Nigeria

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Onitsha

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous legal standard by the trial court.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Why S’Court quashed doctor’s conviction by medical tribunal, By Francis Famoroti (Judiciary staff writer), National Mirror, June 30, 2014"

Information Location 1:

http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/why-scourt-quashed-doctors-conviction-by-medical-tribunal/

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: