Adding to the saga surrounding two whistleblowing Winkler County (Texas) Memorial Hospital nurses who lost their jobs, a former county attorney was found guilty of retaliation and will spend four months in jail and 10 years of probation, reports the Associated Press. The former attorney, Scott Tidwell, also was convicted of misuse of official information and official oppression and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine.

Tidwell was found guilty of filing charges, on the doctor's account, that he knew were false against nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle, who made an anonymous ethics complaint about Dr. Rolando Arafiles to the state medical board, reports KFYO.

Although Tidwell's attorney, David Zavoda, and his client don't "necessarily" agree with the verdict, they accept it, Zavoda told the AP.

Meanwhile, Former Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts was convicted of retaliation against the two whistleblowing nurses earlier this year and sentenced to 100 days in jail, notes the AP.

In an attempt to prevent similar incidents, a new Texas law went into effect last month that bars anonymous complaints against physicians, while another new law enhances retaliation protection by increasing the fines to up to $25,000 against a doctor who retaliates against a nurse for reporting unsafe care, according to the AP.

For more:
- read the AP article
- here's the KFYO article

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