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May 20, 2000, Saturday, BC cycle

Psychiatrist in DWI murder trial loses license because of alcohol abuse

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 459 words

DATELINE: RALEIGH

A psychiatrist who testified in the trial of a man convicted of first-degree murder after a fatal drunken-driving crash has lost his medical license because of alcohol abuse.
The North Carolina Medical Board last month indefinitely suspended the license of William Frederick Mackey Jr. of Chapel Hill.
In a March hearing during which Mackey testified, the board found that Mackey sought treatment for alcohol abuse twice in a three-month period beginning in December 1994, and that he was charged in December 1995 with driving under the influence.
The board said Mackey’s alcohol abuse escalated in 1998 and continued into 1999, when people noticed a strong odor of alcohol about him on days he was scheduled to see patients.
Mackey, however, says the board relied completely on hearsay in reaching its decision to suspend him. And he says he has no alcohol problem.
“I’ve never had a patient complain in 25 years, and I still haven’t,” he said.
Mackey said he warned the board that his suspension could endanger patients at his private practice in Chapel Hill who rely on him, but board members did not seem concerned.
“And when you’re dealing with relationships established over many years, that’s simply ridiculous,” he said.
“It reflects a total lack of knowledge about psychiatry by the medical board.”
Mackey also said the board offered him the chance to enroll in a substance-abuse program, but he refused.
“I could have simply agreed to what the board asked of me, but since the accusations were false, I was determined to prove them false in a court of law,” he said.
Mackey is preparing an appeal of the board’s decision, which he hopes to present in Wake County Superior Court next week.
In April 1998, Mackey testified in the murder trial of Timothy Earl Blackwell, who was charged with killing 4-year-old Megan Dail in a February 1997 wreck in Durham.
Mackey testified that Megan’s 3-year-old brother, Austin, had nightmares and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the crash.
“There was a preoccupation with the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of his sister,” he testified. “He was completely preoccupied with those events.”
Mackey also said Megan’s parents, Greg and Sherry Dail, suffered from post-traumatic problems.
Blackwell was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but the state Court of Appeals overturned the verdict and said he should get a new trial.
Prosecutors urged the North Carolina Supreme Court last month to uphold Blackwell’s conviction.
At the time of the wreck, Blackwell had five convictions for driving under the influence or driving while impaired, along with 20 convictions for driving while his license was revoked.