Bill aims to nail drug dealers for OD deaths
Selling drugs that end up killing a user could lead to homicide charges for the dealer — or kingpins higher up the food chain — under a new tough-on-crime bill that could help prosecutors bring the hammer down on those who prey on addicts, Gov. Charlie Baker said.
“This would establish a standard that basically says that if you knowingly sell this stuff to somebody, and you kill them, you will be subject to a charge of manslaughter, and that manslaughter charge will carry a five-year mandatory minimum,” Baker said yesterday after he announced a sweeping public safety bill at the Devine Recovery Center in South Boston.
Baker said he hopes the bill, which also provides protection for witnesses and streamlines how the state classifies drugs, will become law before the end of the year. If it’s passed, the legislation would help curb the opioid epidemic, he said.
“Once these tools are made available, and the bad actors know the laws are on the books in Massachusetts, maybe they’ll think twice about their actions,” Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said. “This whole set of corrections is critical to bringing safety back to our commonwealth.”
Baker said the portion of the bill that could lead to homicide charges against drug pushers would extend to any drug “that kills somebody.” He added that prosecutors can “work their way up the chain” and charge anyone from low-level street pushers, to larger dealers.
The bill, if passed, would also expand protections for those who testify in criminal matters by fixing a loophole in the existing witness-intimidation statute that was pointed out by the Supreme Judicial Court in a 2011 ruling, according to the Baker administration.
The legislation would expand protections to a witness’ family members and would ensure that authorities can keep people safe before and after a trial.
“We need the witnesses protected,” said Aretha Mauge, whose 16-yearold son, Devonte Mauge- Franklin, was stabbed to death as he rode an MBTA bus on New Year’s Eve in 2006. “There is a witness on that bus who is just terrified. He doesn’t want to come forward because he doesn’t want to get killed.”
Baker’s bill would also directly link state drug classifications to those of the federal government in the hopes of eliminating the need for Massachusetts to amend state law every time a new drug needs to be prohibited.
Marijuana, which is still barred by the federal government but legal in Massachusetts, would not be affected under the linked drug scheduling scheme.