Matthew Perry’s family faces fresh court battle as doctor appeals

Matthew Perry’s doctor, Dr Salvador Plasencia, has appealed the 30-month prison sentence he received for illegally supplying ketamine to the beloved Friends star before his death.

For the unversed, the actor died in October 2023 after an accidental drowning caused by the acute effects of ketamine. 

Plasencia was among five people convicted in relation to the tragedy and became the first defendant to be sentenced in December 2025 after pleading guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution.

According to court papers obtained by People magazine, the medic’s lawyers argue he was punished too severely because prosecutors treated him as a doctor abusing a position of trust. 

They insist that, in this case, he was not acting as a physician but as “nothing more than a drug dealer”.

The appeal claims Perry did not see Plasencia as a treating doctor and that no doctor-patient relationship existed between them. 

His legal team argues that because there was no fiduciary relationship, the court should not have applied sentencing enhancements linked to professional misconduct.

The filing also states that Plasencia’s medical credentials were “not integral” to the offences and that his professional status unfairly increased the severity of his punishment.

The appeal comes after an emotional sentencing hearing in Los Angeles, where Plasencia apologised to Perry’s family. 

Fighting back tears, he admitted: “I failed myself. There is no excuse. I should have protected him.”

Matthew’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, delivered a heartbreaking statement to the court. 

Referring to messages in which Plasencia allegedly called her son a “moron” while discussing drug sales, she firmly responded: “There was nothing moronic about that man.”

It's worth noting that, Plasencia was one of five people sentenced over Perry’s death. 

Others included his former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, alleged drug supplier Jasveen Sangha, fellow doctor Mark Chavez and acquaintance Erik Fleming, all of whom received varying punishments for their roles in the case.

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