Massachusetts AG to appeal veterans facility case where dozens died from COVID-19

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Tuesday that she will appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss grand jury indictments of two people who oversaw a veterans care facility where dozens died of COVID-19.

The initial charges stemmed from a decision made by Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director David Clinton to consolidate two dementia units and consequently mix residents “regardless of COVID-19 status” at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, a veterans care facility. 

In September 2020, Walsh and Clinton were each charged with 5 counts of caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits bodily injury to an elder or disabled person and 5 counts of caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits abuse, neglect, or mistreatment to an elder or disabled person. 

Their indictment came after over 60 patients died from COVID-19 at the veterans care facility last year, which prompted federal investigators to look into whether the residents were provided with proper medical attention.

“The tragic loss of life at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home broke the promise that our Commonwealth would honor these men who bravely served our country,” Healey said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are filing this notice of appeal today to pursue accountability on behalf of their loved ones and communities.”

Last month, Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward McDonough Jr. dismissed the charges against Walsh and Clinton.

At the time, the judge wrote that there was “insufficient reasonably trustworthy evidence that, had these two dementia units not been merged, the medical condition of any of these five veterans would have been materially different.”

“Therefore, because the evidence does not support a finding of probable cause to believe Mr. Walsh or Mr. Clinton committed any crime, I must dismiss the indictments against both” he added.