Benoit's Doctor Sentenced to 10 Years

Back in 2007, WWE superstar Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son before taking his own life. In the aftermath, many have blamed excessive steroid abuse by Benoit as having an integral role, despite the fact that it couldn't really be proven that was the cause.

Regardless, the fact that Benoit's Doctor had prescribed him and many others illegal steroids has landed said Doctor in hot water. That's putting it mildly, actually. Dr. Phil Astin, 54, pleaded guilty to 175 counts -- including distribution of illegal drugs to his clients. In return, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Jack Camp said there was no doubt the 54-year-old Astin tried to help hundreds of patients at his western Georgia clinic. But the judge said he could not overlook the fact that at least two patients died as a result of Astin's misconduct.

Thank you, Judge Camp.

Putting Astin behind bars can't bring back those who have suffered because of the Doctor's nefarious activities, but it can protect others from his future misconduct or from Doctors who may have considered it and will now be deterred by this conviction.

All too often professional wrestlers have died premature deaths, and bringing down anyone who had a hand in it is a worthwhile venture. This one in particular stung the wrestling community, as Benoit took two innocent people with him -- including a child. The conviction of this Doctor seems to take the WWE off the hook in this particular case, at least a tad bit, but they should still be more vigorous in testing their employees. Vince McMahon has complained of being held to more scrutiny than the NFL or MLB, for example, in the past, but those leagues don't exactly have the premature death list the WWE does.