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| Amanda Young not guilty of Joshua Gafney manslaughter | Amanda Young not guilty of Joshua Gafney manslaughter |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A nurse who gave a patient a lethal overdose of a prescription drug has been found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. | A nurse who gave a patient a lethal overdose of a prescription drug has been found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. |
| Amanda Young, 40, slumped in the dock at Bristol Crown Court as the verdict was read out. | Amanda Young, 40, slumped in the dock at Bristol Crown Court as the verdict was read out. |
| Joshua Gafney, 22, died after she administered 14 times the dose of anti-psychotic Clozapine in February 2012. | Joshua Gafney, 22, died after she administered 14 times the dose of anti-psychotic Clozapine in February 2012. |
| During trial, Ms Young said she had "not seen" details of the drug's strength written on the bottle's label. | During trial, Ms Young said she had "not seen" details of the drug's strength written on the bottle's label. |
| Witnesses described the nurse, from Yeovil, Somerset, as "kind and empathetic" and dedicated to her profession. | Witnesses described the nurse, from Yeovil, Somerset, as "kind and empathetic" and dedicated to her profession. |
| The court was told Mr Gafney had serious mental health issues and was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. | |
| Ms Young was instructed to give him 6ml - a little more than a teaspoon - of Clozapine but the court heard she "hadn't seen" the dosage written on the medication. | |
| Instead, she poured six bottles into a glass for him. | |
| Mr Gafney drank the glass, containing 84ml, and was pronounced dead two hours later. | |
| Defence barrister, Elizabeth Marsh QC, had told jurors at least two other nurses had given Mr Gafney similar doses in the days leading up his death. | |
| She described Ms Young's actions as "a mistake by a compassionate and focused nurse". |