ATLANTA — Dr. Joseph L. Burton, a once-renowned medical examiner and forensic pathologist who served counties across metro Atlanta, was sentenced today to eight years in prison for writing prescriptions for painkillers in return for sex.
Moments before his sentencing, Burton said, “I regret all that I’ve done is bad. I don’t know why I did that, but I did do that. I apologize to all the people here and the people of Georgia, who I served as a medical examiner since 1972. I failed everybody.”
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Burton to 14 years in prison.
The 73-year-old former medical examiner pleaded guilty in May to federal charges.
His lawyer, Buddy Parker, asked U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross to give Burton a reduced prison sentence because he suffers from “significantly diminished mental capacity.”
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Parker asked Ross to sentence Burton to a term of 44 months in prison.
Parker contended that Burton’s decision to trade hundreds of opioid painkiller prescriptions for sexual favors was the result of a stroke that left him without a moral compass.
Over a two-year period, beginning in July 2015, Burton wrote more than 1,500 prescriptions for about 350 different people for controlled substances, including opioid painkillers, court documents say. The bulk of these prescriptions were for women in return for sexual favors.
In 2010, Burton suffered a massive stroke that required hospitalization and resulted in behavioral changes, according to a memo filed with the court. The incident caused significant damage to the frontal lobe of Burton’s brain, home to executive functions.
“Burton’s moral compass has been destroyed by cardiovascular disease,” the memo said.
For decades, Burton was relied upon by area prosecutors as a key witness in numerous high-profile cases. He served as chief medical examiner in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Paulding counties and associate medical examiner in Fulton County.
Cox Media Group
