72-year-old Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor who was convicted of first-degree murder for killing babies that were born alive in his clinic, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for running a 'poll mill' out of the same clinic, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as reported by CNN.
Gosnell was found guilty in May.
Gosnell "pleaded guilty to prescribing and dispensing narcotics from June 2008 to February 2010 by writing fraudulent prescriptions for hundreds of thousands of prescription pills -including 600,000 pills containing oxycodone - to cash-paying customers who showed no medical need," CNN also reported.
Gosnell wrote more than 2,300 prescriptions for controlled substances in January 2010, charging up to $150 for each, according to the release.
Gosnell was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies at his West Philadelphia abortion clinic by cutting their spinal cords with scissors, CNN reported in May. He was sentenced to life without parole in exchange for waiving his right to appeal the convictions.
"Gosnell and nine other employees at the Women's Medical Center were charged with crimes for the illegal practices at the clinic," according to a 2011 grand jury report.
"It was literally a beheading," said medical-student graduate Stephen Massoff who worked at the clinc.
"It is separating the brain from the body," Massoff added.
Many observers pointed to the rather cavalier attitude of Gosnell in describing his operations. One employee testified that after the doctor snipped the neck of a fetus delivered at 30 weeks, he joked it was big enough "to walk to the bus stop."
Eight people involved at the Gosnell's clinic have pleaded guilty to various charges, including four to murder.
