Canada: Doctors cleared in blood scandal

A judge acquitted three doctors, a New Jersey company and a former Red Cross official of criminal charges in a tainted-blood scandal that infected thousands of Canadians with HIV or hepatitis and resulted in more than 3,000 deaths.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto ruled that the defendants did not show conduct displaying wanton and reckless disregard in the use of the blood and that there was no marked departure from the standards of a reasonable person.