Drug dealers to be charged with murder in overdoses? States ponder the question

STAFFORD, Conn. — Having lost his 29-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose, Dean Palozej believes dealers who peddle drugs that kill should be locked up for a very long time — for the rest of their life, in some cases.

A state representative who heard the story felt the same way. With a piece of legislation introduced this year, he joined lawmakers around the country who have been pushing for murder or manslaughter charges in a get-tough campaign against people who supply drugs that cause fatal overdoses, in efforts to curb the opioid overdose crisis.

Spencer Palozej died Feb. 1, 2018, one day shy of his 30th birthday, at his home in Manchester. In frequent pain from injuries and surgeries, he would occasionally buy oxycodone pills from an acquaintance but received fentanyl-laced pills in his last purchase instead, Dean Palozej said. No arrests have been made.

“If they’re dealing fentanyl ... they’re just pumping poison out into the streets,” Dean Palozej said. “I’d like to see these guys on a first offense get three to five years. The second offense, charge them with murder. This is going on way too much. People are dying.”

Lawmakers in Connecticut, Hawaii, Mississippi and Virginia have proposed murder and manslaughter charges for overdoses this year. Several states passed such laws over the past two years, while others have taken to charging drug deaths under murder and manslaughter statutes that don’t specifically mention overdoses.

Twenty states now have so-called “drug-induced homicide” laws that carry the same sentences as murder and manslaughter, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit drug policy organization based in New York.

Federal law has included a penalty of 20 years to life in prison for providing drugs that cause fatal overdoses since Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, spurred by the cocaine overdose death of basketball star Len Bias that year.

There is a debate, however, about whether such laws are good policy. Supporters say the laws are needed to properly punish and deter dealers and others who supply drugs that kill. Opponents argue those laws are not a deterrent, discourage people from calling 911 for help for overdose victims and help fuel higher arrest rates of minorities.