Exeter 'Serial Infector' Case: Would Punishment Fit Crime?

David Kwiatkowski, the former medical technician charged with spreading his hepatitis C to 32 Exeter Hospital patients, pleaded guilty to a host of charges in federal court this month.


Kwiatkowski, 34, agreed to a plea deal that includes a prison sentence of 30 to 40 years.

Prosecutors said Kwiatkowski, who has hepatitis C, shot himself up with patients' medication to get high. He then replaced syringes with saline to make them appear untouched. Those tainted syringes were then used on unsuspecting patients.

It was the same tactic used by a Colorado nurse in 2010. The nurse, Kristen Parker, spread her hepatitis C to more than a dozen patients. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

Hepatitis C is a potentially deadly liver disease.

Kwiatkowski, who grew up in Michigan, was a "traveler," a medical technician who worked at hospitals across the country. In addition to the Exeter victims, authorities said he likely infected dozens more patients. A patient in Kansas died after contracting hepatitis C from Kwiatkowski, prosecutors said.

Kwiatkowski's plea deal also includes a promise that he will not be charged with more crimes related to the outbreak in other states.

Kwiatkowski told a judge he has a history of abusing narcotics and alcohol.

Is Kwiatkowski's potential punishment fitting of the crimes he admitted to?

Read court documents laying out the case against Kwiatkowski.