title: Destroying the life and career of a valued physician-scientist who tried to protect us from plague: was it really necessary?
abstract: Thomas Campbell Butler, at 63 years of age, is completing the first year of a 2-year sentence in federal prison, following an investigation and trial that was initiated after he voluntarily reported that he believed vials containing Yersinia pestis were missing from his laboratory at Texas Tech University. We take this opportunity to remind the infectious diseases community of the plight of our esteemed colleague, whose career and family have, as a result of his efforts to protect us from infection by this organism, paid a price from which they will never recover.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA. bem.asst@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Barbara E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Karl E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Falkow
authors.forename: J Ted
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.forename: Ted W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Frank M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ryburn
authors.forename: R Bradley
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: Marc J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Struelens
authors.forename: Lowell S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Greenough
mesh_terms: D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D032982:Contracts / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005607:Fraud / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement / Q000941:ethics*; D010930:Plague / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012637:Security Measures / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000592:standards; D013781:Texas; D014481:United States; D037041:United States Government Agencies; D014495:Universities; D015010:Yersinia pestis