Pharmacist blamed for deaths in US meningitis outbreak expected to plead no contest in Michigan case

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — A Massachusetts pharmacist charged with murder in the deaths of 11 Michigan residents from a 2012 U.S. meningitis outbreak is expected to plead no contest Thursday to involuntary manslaughter. Glenn Chin was to appear Thursday in a Livingston County, Michigan, courtroom. The state attorney general’s office said last week in an email to families that Chin’s plea deal calls for a 7 1/2-year prison sentence, with credit for his current longer sentence for federal crimes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 700 people in 20 states were sickened with fungal meningitis or other debilitating illnesses, and dozens died as a result of tainted steroids shipped to pain clinics.