One of the medical doctors convicted in the ketamine death case of Hollywood actor Matthew Perry has filed an appeal, claiming he should be treated as a drug dealer rather than a physician.
Dr Salvador Plasencia has asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn his 30-month prison sentence and order a new sentencing hearing.
In court documents, Plasencia argued that the trial judge improperly imposed a harsher punishment for abusing his position of trust as a medical professional.
The doctor’s lawyers insisted that the late Friends star did not approach Plasencia for legitimate medical treatment, but was looking for a reliable source to buy ketamine. Because of this, the defence team argued that Plasencia should be treated as a common drug dealer rather than a doctor who betrayed a patient’s trust.
The appeal also challenged other parts of the judgment, with Plasencia claiming he received an unfairly harsher punishment than his co-defendants, Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming.
Plasencia had earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution after federal prosecutors proved he supplied the liquid drugs to Perry in the weeks leading up to the actor’s fatal overdose.
The convict stated that he is not disputing his involvement in the crime, but wants his prison sentence reduced to match those given to the other suppliers involved in the case.
