Crime & Safety
Madison Doctor Denied Accelerated Rehabilitation
A judge ruled that Dr. Scott Houghton will face trial for the illegal prescription charges he faces.
Madison doctor Scott W. Houghton asked the courts for an accelerated conclusion for his illegal drug prescription case and the application was denied Monday.
Houghton was charged in 2011 with 47 felony crimes involving overprescribed narcotics, failure to monitor patients and inappropriately accepted gifts and cash in exchange for prescriptions, according to a report in The Day.
Houghton was hoping that the court would dismiss his case if he completes a probationary period but that did not happen. Patch reported earlier that family members of Skye Van Epps who died of an overdose of drugs prescribed by Houghton appeared before court during when Houghton made the original request.
Shannon Van Epps, the sister of Skye Van Epps, plans to appear in court to oppose that. Skye Van Epps "died from an overdose of alcohol and Xanax on Feb. 22, 2010, inside the family-owned home at Ragged Rock Marina, which is at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook. He is referred to as "Patient 19" in a court document that alleges Houghton wrote Van Epps overlapping prescriptions," the report says.
The judge said to the court that the charges were too serious to rectify through accelerated rehabilitation.
Click here to read the full article in The Day.
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