Washington [US], June 11: Matthew Perry's doctor has appealed his sentence in connection with the actor's death.
The Friends star died from accidental drowning caused by the acute effects of ketamine use in October 2023, and Dr Salvador Placencia was one of five people convicted of crimes relating to his death and was the first to be sentenced in December 2025, given a 30-month prison term.
According to a defence brief obtained by People magazine, the doctor argued he received a harsher sentence for violating a position of trust as a medical professional, when he was "nothing more than a drug dealer".
The medic's lawyers argued their client - who pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine as part of a plea agreement - was not acting as a doctor when he sold the drug to Perry.
"Instead, he was nothing more than a drug dealer. There was therefore no abuse of a position of trust or use of a special skill," they wrote.
"Mr Perry saw appellant for what he was in this case, namely, a drug dealer, who happened to have an 'MD' after his name.
Placencia's lawyers argued he was "punished more severely on account of his professional status even though he did not abuse a position of trust or use a special skill in selling Ketamine to Mr Perry".
"Emphasis upon appellant's position as a medical doctor was misguided because his credentials were not integral to the commission of the drug crimes," the document said.
Placencia previously apologised to Perry's family before his sentence was read out in a Los Angeles federal court.
"There is no excuse. I can't undo what's been done. I know that. I should have protected him, as his mother said. I'm just so sorry," he said.
Perry's mother Suzanne Morrison and other family members spoke before Plasencia was sentenced.
She referenced texts in court records where the doctor called her late son a "moron" and speculated how much he would pay for the drugs.
"There was nothing moronic about that man," she told him.
She noted that he took an oath to protect people, which should have included her son.
Plasencia revealed he has a two-year-old son who he wants to "raise" properly, and has wondered how he will explain everything to him.
"I want to raise him right," he said.
Plasencia was one of five people sentenced in connection with Perry's death.
His personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, was sentenced to 41 months in prison, while Jasveen Sangha, a woman described by prosecutors as the "Ketamine Queen" of North Hollywood, received a 15-year jail term.
Another doctor, Mark Chavez, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
Erik Fleming - a former acquaintance of the star - received his punishment last month and was ordered to spend 24 months in federal prison before undertaking three years of supervised release.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
