New trial over soccer legend Maradona's death begins in Argentina

The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head ‌nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. ‌An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a ‌separate jury trial, with no ‌date yet set.Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, ‌Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona's children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a theatre of horror, where necessary care was not provided.The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding ‌health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona's death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner.If convicted, the defendants could face prison sentences ranging between eight and 25 years.