Remember when everyone thought Howard K Stern and the two doctors were going to jail and all the charges they face for allegedly conspiring to get Anna Nicole Smith drugs illegally. Yeah, it seemed like there were hundreds of charges. Yesterday though, two of the defendants, including Howard K stern walked away totally vindicated and free while one other person got a slap on the wrist and probation for a year. That is less than a DUI.
I still think they are responsible for her death. They are the ones who made it possible for her to take drugs and to continue taking drugs. If they had not procured the drugs for Anna and she was forced to get them on her own, would she have been able to get them? I don't think so. I am trying to imagine a totally whacked out Ana being able to handle all of that on her own.
Anyway, after the verdict was handed down by the Judge, Howard K said, that the verdict vindicated Anna and that she could not be controlled by anyone. I have my doubts, but the justice system has spoken. Prosecutors said they are going to appeal. I doubt they will though.
Yes these people enabled her behavior but so did an untold number of others. Consequently the "guilty" simply point the finger at the unindicted enablers and have to walk free due to reasonable doubt. I suspect Dr. Conrad Murray will use the same defense in the Michael Jackson death. Given how many enablers Jackson had, he'll probably get off.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are injecting pain killers directly into someone, then it's definitely more than enabling. I don't know if she would definitely have gone that route with Howard or not, but if she was addictive before, she'd have found a way to get drugs with or without him.
ReplyDeleteI think when you choose to do drugs and whatnot, if you overdose it's kind of your own fault. When an alcoholic dies, you don't see the liqour store being sued, do you?
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Ultimately, Anna Nicole was responsible for what she put into her body. I'm sad about the enablers and believe they contributed to her decline but I don't think they are responsible for her death. She made the decision one day to start putting drugs into her body and the blame belongs on her. If they didn't get the drugs for her, she would have made the decision to find more enablers who would.
ReplyDeleteStern is no different from a drug dealer/pusher. An addict is caught in the addiction, and those that are providing the drugs are the source and means of continuing. If liquor were illegal the way it once was, those providing it would also be liable for the damage they cause.
ReplyDelete@RQ
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't disagree with you in principle, to me, it still doesn't change the fact that she chose to do the drugs. Had she told whomever introduced her to drugs to jam it on the one, we wouldn't be here talking about who is responsible for her death.
They say she was in terrible pain and taking prescriptions and it was out of their hands and her choice.
ReplyDeleteBut if I were a doctor who saw her behavior and downhill slide, I'd certainly think twice before prescribing more.
And if it were my loved one acting like she did in that video with HKS, I'd definitely question the doctors choice and think something needed to be done. Instead he thought it was a joke and laughed.
@Sue - I'm not sure how much experience you have with addiction, but I have quite a bit in my family. Taking a pill or a drink the first time should not be something that a person is blamed for/held hostage to for the rest of their lives and as Cecilia said, addiction can begin as a result of injury and pain. Once a person is addicted, their ability to make good decisions is completely compromised. He's a pusher who chose to keep her addicted for his own gain. Throw him in jail.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Howard can be held criminally liable, but he's an evil shit. He might have been in on the death of her older son, too, in the Barbados or wherever it happened.
ReplyDeleteI only have, um, theoretical experience with addiction, so I don't have any first had experiences, but from what I understand addicts are addicts are addicts, for whatever reason, and they'll get what they need by any means necessary.
ReplyDeleteAnd, no, they shouldn't have to be held hostage their whole lives for being what they are, but it is, to me, an explaination as to why they do what they do.
It's a tough call and I am glad I'm not the one who had to make that legal decision.
I think we might have to agree to disagree here.
The "clown video" alone should been enough evidence to send HKS to jail.
ReplyDeleteok, this is such bullshit. the judge ruled that stern 'didn't intend to break the law' when he got prescriptions under fake names.
ReplyDeletewhat the fuck does that mean????
stern's a lawyer. he had to know that's illegal and ignorance of the law is not a defense---not for him, not for anyone.
so if he did it, isn't it fair to say he DID intend to break the law?
i swear to god, you can get away with anything in california. the state SHOULD appeal---this is laughable.
i believe howard has serious blood on his hands, and this ruling is a slap in the face of anna's loved ones, mainly that sweet little baby daughter. i think anna just rolled over in her grave.
ReplyDeletedone.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that really gets me is that the jury found him guilty on 2 counts, but the judge over turned them. What is the point of having a jury decide if the judge is just going to step in and do whatever he wants?
ReplyDeleteI think Howard killed the thing he loved the most. He was obsessed with her and she knew it and used it for drugs. He got her the drugs knowing it will keep her under control and keep him around. At the least he should be disbarred and the Dr's lose their medical licenses.
ReplyDeleteYes she had a pretty face and big fake boobs. But why people became consumed with that bumpkin was beyond me. She was a junkie and died a junkie.
And I am with @Jennifer. It was a jury trial not a judge's trial. What is the point of dragging me to jury duty if what I vote on will have no merit.
ITA with this RocketQueen...
ReplyDeleteOnce a person is addicted, their ability to make good decisions is completely compromised. He's a pusher who chose to keep her addicted for his own gain. Throw him in jail.
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The little girl in the clown video begged him to get help for Anna! She could tell that Anna was acting confused after Howard gave her a pill. He just kept filming and seemed more concerned about making money from the video.
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Jennifer ITA with...
The thing that really gets me is that the jury found him guilty on 2 counts, but the judge over turned them.
i just can't believe its been 3 years already since Anna Nicole died and the whole Anna Nicole circus train.
ReplyDeleteI feel badly for the whole situation. I hope that the baby (How can I call her a baby! haha my daughter was born like a week after her and shes a total kid now) is doing well with Larry Birkhead.
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ReplyDeleteThanks Nosey.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's best friend and rugby teammate was his doctor. When he was at his lowest, he went to see him, and he prescribed my father whiskey. My father committed suicide less than a year later. Although we didn't bring him up on charges, he has SINCE been brought up on charges for irresponsible behaviour and doling out prescriptions without proper instructions.
When my engagement broke up about 4 years ago (as well as a bunch of other things that all happened at the same time), I started doing cocaine as it numbed my sadness. I moved into a new place and my landlord was a drug dealer. He had no trouble dropping by anytime to sell me coke. While it was my choice to buy, he was still a dealer and when I would get clean time, he would call me or drop by to ask why he hadn't heard from me, and it would all begin again. A dealer is a dealer.
I still remember the terribly sad video of Anna Nicole as a clown, about 8 months pregnant with Dannielynn.
ReplyDeleteBeing acquitted and being innocent are two very different things. They might have been acquitted because there wasn't enough evidence, or enough convincing evidence, that they were guilty. Without Anna to testify, that's a tall order in itself.
ReplyDeleteIn the court of public opinion, HKS will always be guilty! What a scum!
Why do we even bother to have prescriptions then, if everyone should be allowed to make their own decisions about what they take?
ReplyDeleteAnyone who watched that HKS home movie of Anna Nicole can see he was baiting her, albeit gently: "Is this a mushroom trip?...This footage is going to be worth a lot of money..." While the little girl shows more concern for Anna Nicole's welfare, Howard wants as many whacked-out sound bites as he can get, the manipulative prick.
ReplyDeleteI have a question - wouldn't he automatically be disbarred for having charges brought against him, or would it happen only if he was convicted?
ReplyDeleteHe wouldn't have lasted long in prison.
Would it surprise anyone if he wasn't giving her more drugs than she asked for? He obtained those illegal scripts moreso 4 his own deviant controlling purposes than to feed her habit. He wanted to control her for personal reasons & profit. Disgusting!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a preview of what is going to happen to Michael Jackson's doctor too. I hope the laws start changing to address this professional drug dealers, because that is what they are.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think the E Network had some culpability too. Anyone who saw that show knew she was whacked out of her mind, but they let it happen for the ratings.