Advocates oppose new law
Urge Raimondo to veto murder charge for drug dealers in fatal overdose cases
Addiction recovery experts speak out
klolio@ricentral.com
PROVIDENCE — Recovery advocates opposed to the passage of “Kristen’s Law,” a bill allowing drug dealers to be charged with murder after a fatal overdose, met for a rally at the statehouse Monday afternoon to urge Governor Gina Raimondo to veto the legislation, which was passed by the Senate last week, 55-14.
“Kristen’s Law,” named for a 29-year-old Cranston woman named Kristen Coutu who died of a fatal overdose of fentanyl in 2014, underwent several amendments while passing through the general assembly, but those opposed to the bill in the medical community don’t believe the changes are enough to quell its potential effects. Amendments include a provision protecting those who share drugs rather than sell them and a good Samaritan clause protecting those who report overdoses.
They believe the bill will not serve its intended purpose and will fill prisons with low-level drug users rather than getting at major drug kingpins.
Protesters this week held signs in the statehouse rotunda reading phrases like “no more war on drugs,” “public health, not prisons” and “overdose is accidental.”
“The drug induced homicide bill seeks to assign full blame to this person in the event of an overdose death,” said Lincoln resident Haley McKee, a former user herself. “Created out of pure emotional reactivity, this bill will surely magnify the tragic effects of this epidemic.
McKee said she was of the 80 percent of heroin users whose ad- diction started in a doctors office with a prescription. She talked about the neighbors from whom she’d bought drugs in the past, noting that they, too, are people with their own problems attempting to self-medicate. “Why am I talking about my drug dealers?” she said. “It’s because they aren’t kingpins. They don’t drive gold Audi’s. Some days when I would shoot up, I’d think if I overdosed under this bill my neighbors would have been charged with murder. This is a distribution crime. These people are not murderers. I urge the Governor to veto this bill that will no doubt further marginalize the people at the highest risk.”
McKee addressed Raimondo directly, stating: “You are about to sign an eye for an eye bill, and all you’ve said publicly is that this is for the families and victims.”
“Over the past 20 years and throughout my career I’ve done everything in my power to help people find their pathway to recovery,” said Lisa Peterson, a licensed mental health counselor and member of the RI Women’s Action Initiative. “On any given day the dealer is the buyer and vice versa. This bill is extremely broad. Currently the ACI is the largest defacto provider of behavioral health services in the state. For over a century we have added law after law in an attempt to curb substance abuse. If the solution is to be found in criminal justice approaches, then why are we facing worst epidemic in decades?”
Recovery addict and father Anthony Hollins has also been a vocal opponent of the legislation. Hollins, who lost a son and step-daughter to overdoses, said Monday that “Kris- ten’s Law” will target the wrong population –– poor and disadvantaged communities.
“The people selling this crap,” he said. “They’re getting the drugs the way they are. I’m sad to say it’s a horrifying situation, but we need to educate one another. I’ve made so much progress in my life. I’ve been clean a few years now and I’m happy. I feel better about myself. I don’t think I could have done it without somebody educating me and showing me a better way to deal with this instead of going back out into the street using.”
“I overdosed,” said Hollins. “I should be dead to be honest and to tell you the truth, but I’m not. There’s so many young men and women coming out of prison turning their life around, not using drugs any more. They’re doing fabulous, but they just need that chance. Incarceration is not always the answer.”
“Anthony is proof that you can have loss in your life and not seek revenge, but seek redemption,” said Representative Moira Walsh. “Drug kingpins are not going to be the ones affected by this law. For the most part an addict who wakes up next to an overdosed person is not a kingpin, but a drug addict themselves.”
“Drug addicts are people, too,” she added. “There is no manual for addiction. It’s not only poor or irresponsible people, or only people who deserve it. I understand Kristen’s mom is angry and hurt, but revenge is not the way to do this. The war on drugs has already ripped so many children away from their parents. It traumatizes generations and Governor Raimondo knows this.”
Daryl Gould, representing the Rhode Island Libertarian Party, said the bill was born out of good intentions, but will do more harm than good.
“As a parent I can’t begin to fathom what it’s like to lose a child, and I hope nobody ever has to go through that,” he said. “As such I stand here today to call upon the Governor to veto this law. This legislation is a perfect example of a law born out of good intentions.”
“This isn’t going to save lives,” he continued. “It’s actually going to do the opposite. We do this quite often in this building. We propose. We sponsor legislation. The whole intention is good at the end of the day, but there are unintended consequences we don’t realize. We need to get rid of the stigma of drug use and start approaching this as a health concern.”
Raimondo has not yet indicated when she will be signing the legislation but has said she intends to do so after hearing from advocates on both sides.