HARRISBURG \u2014 Supplying drugs in fatal overdoses has led to hundreds of Pennsylvania prison sentences, while grieving families remain divided over whether these prosecutions do more harm than good.<\/p>\n
Those are among the findings of recent Spotlight PA investigations into the state\u2019s criminal charge of drug delivery resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison. It is used for cases when someone illegally provides drugs that cause someone to die \u2014 it includes both selling and giving. The statute is broad and doesn\u2019t distinguish between defendants who are kingpins, street-level dealers, or fellow users.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania is known as one of the top states, if not the leader<\/a>, in bringing this type of criminal charge. Some families of victims push for these prosecutions, while others object to this approach.<\/p>\n Here are five things to know about the issue and Spotlight PA\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n Punishments under the law have increased in Pa.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania saw a dramatic increase in these charges, after a change in state law<\/a> and the rise of the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n In 2011<\/a>, state lawmakers paved the way for the use of the charge when they effectively removed a requirement for there to be a finding of malice for drug delivery resulting in death cases. Some prosecutors embraced the charge as the opioid epidemic spread in Pennsylvania, with more than 5,000 people dying from overdoses some years.<\/p>\n Data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing show punishments under the charge used to be rare. The commission\u2019s data are based on reports from common pleas courts in Pennsylvania, and an official told Spotlight PA that historically, the agency receives data on about 95% to 98% of all cases.<\/p>\n From 2007 through 2011, the commission\u2019s data show not a single person was convicted and sentenced on the charge.<\/p>\n But such punishments reached a recent annual high of around 100 in 2019.<\/p>\n While many defendants in these drug delivery resulting in death cases do not receive the maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison, attorneys say the threat of such a lengthy time can pressure them into accepting guilty pleas.<\/p>\n Tracking these types of cases nationally is a challenge. But researchers at the Action Lab at Northeastern University<\/a> found more drug-induced homicide cases in Pennsylvania than in any other state, based on media mentions.<\/p>\n State leaders have embraced the charge, at least in some cases.<\/p>\n Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, previously served as Pennsylvania\u2019s attorney general. In his memoir, which was released earlier this year<\/a>, he talked about his approach to drug prosecutions.<\/p>\n He said the attorney general\u2019s office under his leadership charged \u201chigher level dealers with tougher crimes\u201d including trying \u201cto put them away for twenty to forty years\u201d if \u201cthe drugs they sold resulted in someone dying.\u201d But Shapiro also said the office tried to send people to treatment instead of prison if they were \u201cnon-violent dealers who were basically just users trying to feed their addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n The current attorney general, Republican Dave Sunday, previously said<\/a> that when he was the York County district attorney, the office was \u201cextremely cautious in charging it,\u201d but that it can be \u201cappropriate, because there has to be accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n Local district attorneys have also supported the charge. Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, told Spotlight PA \u201cit is about justice\u201d and \u201csending the message to drug dealers that what you\u2019re selling is dangerous, is poisonous. It can cause death.\u201d<\/p>\n One family\u2019s story highlights the complicated reality of these cases.<\/p>\n Prosecution rates vary widely between counties here. And compared to the total number of overdose deaths, charges and convictions remain relatively rare. What happens after a death can come down to how local law enforcement decides to approach these cases and the resources they have to investigate.<\/p>\n Spotlight PA\u2019s recent investigations focused on the advocacy of Cyndi Compton, whose son Isaiah died in 2020 after an overdose in Tioga County. He was 24.<\/p>\n Cyndi became known as a relentless advocate in her community.<\/p>\n Less than two months after Isaiah\u2019s death, she wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper, describing the number of overdose deaths in the county and her own research into the drug delivery resulting in death law. She questioned why local officials weren\u2019t using the charge against drug dealers.<\/p>\n She said she searched for evidence \u2014 Facebook messages, an ATM receipt \u2014 in her son\u2019s case and shared it with investigators. She started a Facebook group<\/a> dedicated to stopping overdoses in Tioga County. She posted signs in the area declaring it was time to hold drug dealers accountable<\/a> and that every overdose death warrants a criminal investigation<\/a>. She eventually urged people to vote out<\/a> the Tioga County district attorney<\/a> at the time, and collected signatures<\/a> for the district attorney\u2019s opponent.<\/p>\n An investigation into Isaiah\u2019s death eventually led to a prosecution and conviction \u2014 although by the time those charges were filed, drug delivery resulting in death was off the table.<\/p>\n A two-year statute of limitations had expired.<\/p>\n Some Pa. lawmakers want to give prosecutors more time to bring these charges.<\/p>\n Cyndi\u2019s work led to legislation<\/a> in Harrisburg named after Isaiah.<\/p>\n The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations when someone dies from an overdose, treating those cases like crimes such as murder and voluntary manslaughter.<\/p>\n The legislation from state Rep. Clint Owlett (R., Tioga) would reduce other potential barriers to prosecutions, including when there are multiple drugs involved. But it would also create a defense for people who don\u2019t \u201creceive any service or anything of value in exchange\u201d \u2014 a measure intended to distinguish friends who share drugs from dealers.<\/p>\n Two other<\/a> bills<\/a> would extend the statute of limitations to five years, giving authorities more time to begin these prosecutions. Five years is also the limit for a number of other drug offenses, including possession with intent to deliver heroin or fentanyl.<\/p>\n State Rep. Dane Watro (R., Luzerne), a lawmaker pushing for the extension, said it would address a \u201clegislative oversight.\u201d Citing district attorneys and their statewide association, he said<\/a> the current time limit \u201chas hampered the prosecution of various serious cases.\u201d<\/p>\n All three bills were awaiting action in state legislative committees as of early July. They had not been brought up for a vote.<\/p>\n State Rep. Emily Kinkead (D., Allegheny) has previously raised concerns about the state\u2019s drug delivery resulting in death law and backed legislation to limit its use<\/a>. She told Spotlight PA that unless lawmakers narrow the scope of the law to target dealers, suppliers, and traffickers, \u201cextending or eliminating the statute of limitations is irresponsible and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Some families, advocates have criticized these charges<\/p>\n While some families push for these types of charges, others have tried to stop or limit them in Pennsylvania and nationally. Some families, defense attorneys, and public health advocates have objected to the reach of these prosecutions.<\/p>\n