District Attorney releases new information regarding former Vanderbilt nurse’s trial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The District Attorney’s office sent over new information Saturday following the conviction of a former Vanderbilt nurse.

A jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide following accusations that she gave a 74-year-old patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication back in Dec. 2017.

Saturday morning, the District Attorney’s office sent News4 Nashville the following statement and picture.

The District Attorney’s Office sent News4 Nashville an affidavit. According to the affidavit, Vaught was charged with perjury in Sumner County on Aug. 20, 2020, when she attempted to buy two rifles from Blue Line Gun Store in Gallatin.

When filling out the form for the right to acquire the gun, the question, “Are you under indictment or information in any court for a felony or any other crime for which the judge could imprison you for more than a year?” Vaught signed the document, certifying and claiming that she was not indicted for any crime.

According to the affidavit, Blue Line employees denied her request for a gun, and Vaught told employees she had “some court stuff going on,” and she said that “might be why she was denied.”

The district attorney told News4 that the picture of the pill bottle in the affidavit would have been presented had Vaught testified.

The District Attorney’s office sent over a video by TikTok user @the.nurse.erica that was posted online to show Vaught’s actions after the trial. The TikTok video depicts Vaught and the user visiting from Las Vegas, discussing the verdict.

When asked about what message she had for a nursing student or anyone going into the nursing profession in light of this verdict, this is what Vaught had to say:

The Tik Tok depicts the two women laughing and discussing memes made throughout the trial by other nurses in light of her conviction for criminally negligent homicide.

“Nurses have been under a lot of stress and strain recently and this just adds to it. This kind of verdict adds to the pressure that they are under. They try to do the best for their patients every single day,” said Carla Kirkland, the past president for the Tennessee Nurses Association.

“In actuality, I believe she was guilty of what she had done. But the sentence for her to face 12 years or however much time she is facing in prison is something that we really have to be careful about,” Dr. Irene Bean, the Founder of the TN Nurse Practitioner Association told News4.

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