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SALT LAKE CITY — A federal court has denied a Brigham City doctor's appeal of his conviction for illegally prescribing painkillers.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Dewey C. MacKay's argument that the jury had insufficient evidence to convict him. MacKay also challenged certain jury instructions, admission of a piece of evidence and expert witness testimony.
The court, however, did send the case back to U.S. District Court to clarify for the record the sentence Judge Dee Benson imposed. MacKay argued that the sentences on some of the counts taken individually were excessive.
A jury in December 2011 found the doctor guilty of 37 counts of illegally dispensing painkillers, including two that resulted in the death of a 55-year-old man; and three counts of using a communication device in a drug trafficking offense. Jurors acquitted him of 44 other counts.
Benson sentenced MacKay to 20 years in prison.
