A California judge ignored pleas for leniency from scientists and supporters of W. French Anderson, the gene therapy pioneer convicted of molesting the teenage daughter of a research colleague at the University of Southern California, and sentenced Anderson Friday (February 2) to 14 years in prison."This is a great loss for science. It's a very sad day for science," Mary Ann Liebert, publisher of Human Gene Therapy, a journal founded by Anderson, told The Scientist.Lawrence Kedes, director of the USC Institute for Genetic Medicine, was among Anderson's supporters at the sentencing. Kedes, too, said Anderson's sentencing is a loss for science. "It really is a multiple tragedy for all the parties concerned."Anderson's wife Kathryn, in an interview with The Scientist, insisted her husband is innocent. She said Anderson has received what will amount to a death sentence when other inmates learn the nature of his conviction....
convictedThe ScientistAnderson's arrestThe ScientistarticlesNew York TimesScientific Americanmail@the-scientist.comhttp://www.usc.edu/programs/pibbs/site/faculty/anderson_f.htmhttp://www.liebertpub.com/publication.aspx?pub_id=19The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/23996/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22328http://www.the-scientist.com/pubmed/790474
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