According to so-called "drug-induced homicide" laws, which are present in about 20 jurisdictions, anyone who provides or exposes a person to narcotics that result in a lethal overdose can be charged with murder or manslaughter. Drug dealers are the target of the laws.
Prosecutors in at least three counties in California are using drunk driving statutes to arrest parents whose children die from fentanyl overdoses because the Legislature has refused to approve such regulations, as reported by The Associated Press. It's a novel strategy that will shortly be put to the test in court as the cases move toward trial.
Supporters of increased enforcement argue that users of the synthetic opioid are already aware of its deadly nature and, like drunk drivers, should understand the repercussions of subjecting their children to their behavior.
Parents and Poor Decisions?
Critics claim that although the parents didn't plan to kill their kids, they made poor decisions due to their addictions and are now being punished further rather than receiving assistance.
The controversy occurs as the nation struggles to reduce the use of the extraordinarily lethal and widely available narcotic.
The powdered substance may have caused some of the youngsters to die when they touched it and subsequently touched their eyes or mouths, according to authorities.
In one instance, a parent who prepared the baby's bottle may have had the medication on their hands. The medication is not absorbed via the skin, but according to specialists, even a small body dose of 2 milligrams, or around a mosquito's weight, can be fatal.
Instances of young infants dying from crack, heroin, or cocaine can potentially result in charges against parents, but these are uncommon because a significant amount needs to be consumed.
Although it can be challenging for prosecutors to decide whether to arrest parents, the intention is to discourage others from taking a similar course of action.
Maryland parents were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their 2-month-old son in 2020. In the same bathroom where they made baby bottles, the Mount Airy couple compounded fentanyl.
The number of parents prosecuted for endangering their children by exposing them to fentanyl is not tracked by the National District Attorneys Association, but news accounts and conversations with prosecutors indicate that such instances have increased since the start of the pandemic.
Read also: US Drug Czar Calls for Immediate Action Against Deadly Fentanyl-Xylazine Combination
Parents Accused of Manslaughter in Various States
Parents are frequently accused of manslaughter in states like Maryland that don't have "drug-induced homicide" statutes, according to Smith. Prosecutors in California are using the drunk driving legislation.
The "Watson advisement," a legal declaration signed by anyone found guilty of a DUI offense that states they realize driving while intoxicated might cause injury or death, has been used by prosecutors in the counties of Riverside, Sonoma, and Stanislaus to charge parents with murder. If they are responsible for another fatal DUI crash, the testimony could be used against them.
Related article: Worsening US-China Relations Could Amplify America's Fentanyl Problem: Here's What's Happening
