Mmmm, yes and As someone who conducts clinical research, there are definitely better ways to administrate these things. I know this because my institute is going through a paradigm shift in research initiation, funding and administration, the third one in a decade, because the programs hemorrhage money and investigator time left right and center. For a simple enough reason as 'people like money' stuff is going to shift around until we can find a more efficient way to do poke and prod people for medical science. In the case of Mr. Alexander, it sounds like the research department at his institution was particularly ineffectual and bureaucratically twisted AND his lack of research into 'How do I legally conduct clinical research in a setting with mentally compromised individuals?' came back to bite him and his headcase PI in the butt, a nasty combo.