Families of Robert Courtney’s victims learn ex-pharmacist to be moved to halfway house
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Victims’ family members received a notice that Robert Courtney, a former pharmacist who diluted medications for thousands of cancer patients in Kansas City, is set to be transferred from prison to a halfway house in June.
Santana Cummings’ mother passed away in 1999 from cancer. She was one of thousands of victims to whom Robert Courtney gave diluted medication while they were battling cancer.
Cummings received a notice stating that Robert Courtney had been approved for placement in a Community Corrections Center, otherwise known as a halfway house, in Springfield, Missouri. The notice stated that he would be transferred on June 20, 2024.
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“I just want to be a voice for all the people who are no longer here, who can’t speak for themselves, not only my family but hundreds of families all over Kansas City that deserve justice,” Cummings said. He deserves to serve his full term. He does not need to be released early. Regardless of what their reasoning is, he should have to be held accountable.”
When Cummings mother, Sherri Carrott, was diagnosed with cancer, her doctors were hopeful that after multiple rounds of chemotherapy treatments, she would have a good chance at survival.
“She never got any better. She got sick very quickly. It spread throughout her body. So she never really had a fighting chance,” Cummings explained. “She passed away July 14th of 1999 from her cancer. Then we found out, you know, shortly after that, that everything that she had been given in a liquid form had been diluted by Robert Courtney. So, her body was sometimes getting less than a third of what it should have of the medication. They said some of it was even down to 1%, that it was watered down and diluted.”
“I remember when we were in court when they asked him(Robert Courtney) why he did it. He told everyone that ‘they were going to die anyway,’” Cummings said.
Once Cummings learned that Robert Courtney would soon be transferred to a halfway house, she quickly started a petition to block his release and started reaching out to other victims’ family members and U.S. lawmakers.
“I’m Kind of just reaching out to anybody who will listen right now because, you know, those government officials are the ones who can pull those things strings, and I believe that everybody in Kansas City deserves justice for their families,” Cummings said.
The notice sent to Cummings states that Courtney is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2026.
Courtney’s original sentence confined him until May 2027.
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Senator Josh Hawley was one of multiple U.S. lawmakers who called for Courtney’s release to be blocked back in 2020.
In a statement to FOX4 on Tuesday, Hawley said, “The release of Robert Courtney is outrageous. Mr. Courtney committed crimes against thousands of Missourians and should serve his full sentence behind bars. He is a danger to the public.”
