DIH Report
Resource
An Overdose Death Is Not Murder: Why Drug-Induced Homicide Laws Are Counterproductive and Inhumane
We are in the middle of a tragic increase in drug overdose deaths. Countless lives have been lost – each one leaving an irreparable rift in the hearts and lives of their families and friends. These tragedies are best honored by implementing evidence-based solutions that help individuals, families, and communities heal and that prevent additional avoidable deaths.
This report examines one strategy – “drug-induced homicide” – that the evidence suggests is intensifying, rather than helping, the problem and calls for leaders to turn toward proven measures to address rapidly increasing rates of overdose deaths.
Download the full report (PDF)
What is “drug-induced homicide”?
Drug-induced homicide refers to the crime of delivering drugs that result in a death.
In the 1980s, as the war on drugs grew out of control, the federal government and many states passed laws intended to punish people who provided drugs that led to accidental overdose deaths with sentences equivalent to those for manslaughter and murder.
For the first few decades, these laws were rarely used by police or prosecutors, but steadily increasing rates of drug overdose deaths across the country have led police and prosecutors to revive them.
How are these laws hurting people?
James’ Story
Jobs for people with a felony on their record are hard to come by, so when 36-years-old James Linder lost his job at a bakery, his employment opportunities felt especially bleak. James had recently been released from prison. He needed money and turned to the only option he knew: selling small amounts of drugs. He did it infrequently but made enough to take his son for a haircut and help out his sister.
On January 30, 2015, he sold three packets of heroin to Cody Hillier. Cody’s girlfriend, Danielle Barzyk, stayed in the car. She never met James. Later that day, Danielle died of an overdose. James was charged with drug-induced homicide and sentenced by an all-white jury in rural Illinois. In this video, James shares his story from a federal prison, where he is serving 28 years.
"He still has a whole life here. He has a son to raise. He needs to get out."
Amy’s Story
On August 10, 2014, Amy Shemberger did what people who use drugs do every day – she took a ride to score heroin for herself and her boyfriend, Peter Kucinski. On the ride home, Amy snorted one of the bags of heroin. When she got back, Peter asked for his portion. He was having severe alcohol withdrawal and needed the heroin to feel better.
After snorting a $10 bag of heroin, Peter stopped breathing and Amy called 911. In the same day, Amy lost her boyfriend of 18 years to a fatal overodse and custody of their 5-year-old son. Two months later, Amy was charged with drug-induced homicide. In this video, Amy shares her story from prison where she is serving a seven-year sentence.
"She called 911. She did what she thought was right. And yet she was charged with a violent Class X felony called 'drug-induced homicide."
Why are these laws misguided?
They do not deter drug use or sales.
Prosecutors and legislators claim harsh penalties for drug-induced homicide will deter drug selling, and thus reduce drug use. We have heard this story before.
Yet research consistently shows that neither increased arrests nor increased severity of criminal punishment for drug law violations results in less use (demand) or sales (supply). In other words, punitive sentences for drug offenses have no deterrent effect.
Learn more about the studies that disprove the deterrent theory.
They undermine 911 Good Samaritan Laws and contribute to preventable deaths.
The most common reason people cite for not calling 911 in the event of an overdose is fear of police involvement. Recognizing this barrier, 40 states and the District of Columbia have passed “911 Good Samaritan” laws since 2007, which provide limited criminal immunity for low-level drug law violations for those who seek medical assistance for an overdose victim.
But people who could save lives are unlikely to call 911 if they fear being charged with murder or manslaughter. Elevating punishments for drug-induced homicide charges has a chilling effect on people seeking medical assistance and, as a result, leads to more, not fewer, avoidable overdose fatalities.
Learn more about why overdose witnesses are afraid to call 911.
They foster misuse of prosecutorial discretion.
Police and prosecutors widely abuse their discretion in investigating and prosecuting drug-induced homicide cases. They often promise to go after high-level drug manufacturers and distributors, but that rarely happens.
The vast majority of charges are sought against those in the best positions to seek medical assistance for overdose victims—family, friends, acquaintances, and people who sell small amounts of drugs, often to support their own drug dependence. This discourages them from seeking medical care and wastes resources that could otherwise be spent on interventions that have actually been proven successful at reducing overdose deaths.
Learn more about how prosecutors are misusing these laws.
They perpetuate racial disparities.
Enforcement of drug war policies has historically targeted black and Latino communities, and drug-induced homicide prosecutions appear to follow this pattern. If history is any indicator, black and brown people will be disproportionately targeted both as friends and family of people who died, but, more ominously, as the demonized “pushers,” “dealers,” and “peddlers”—all racially coded language.
It is critical that we curb the use of drug-induced homicide charges if we do not want to perpetuate the already appalling racial disparities in drug law enforcement.
Learn more about the potential for these laws to worsen racial disparities in drug law enforcement.
What can you do?
Hold your elected officials and prosecutors accountable.
We simply cannot let our elected officials off the hook. Not when it could be your child, friend or, simply, fellow human being, who dies from a preventable drug overdose or is locked up for murder. We need our elected officials to embrace proven, life-saving public health interventions instead of wasteful, destructive punishments.
Hear from experts and those affected by these misguided laws.
DPA held a teleconference with experts and people directly affected by drug-induced homicide laws to discuss the current landscape, the impact of drug-induced homicide enforcement, and why it is a misguided response to addressing addiction and overdose.
911 Good Samaritan Laws
Drug Overdose
Naloxone
Report
We are in the middle of a tragic increase in drug overdose deaths. Countless lives have been lost – each one leaving an irreparable rift in the hearts and lives of their families and friends. These tragedies are best honored by implementing evidence-based solutions that help individuals, families, and communities heal and that prevent additional avoidable deaths.
This report examines one strategy – “drug-induced homicide” – that the evidence suggests is intensifying, rather than helping, the problem and calls for leaders to turn toward proven measures to address rapidly increasing rates of overdose deaths.
Download the full report (PDF)
What is “drug-induced homicide”?
Drug-induced homicide refers to the crime of delivering drugs that result in a death.
In the 1980s, as the war on drugs grew out of control, the federal government and many states passed laws intended to punish people who provided drugs that led to accidental overdose deaths with sentences equivalent to those for manslaughter and murder.
For the first few decades, these laws were rarely used by police or prosecutors, but steadily increasing rates of drug overdose deaths across the country have led police and prosecutors to revive them.
How are these laws hurting people?
James’ Story
Jobs for people with a felony on their record are hard to come by, so when 36-years-old James Linder lost his job at a bakery, his employment opportunities felt especially bleak. James had recently been released from prison. He needed money and turned to the only option he knew: selling small amounts of drugs. He did it infrequently but made enough to take his son for a haircut and help out his sister.
On January 30, 2015, he sold three packets of heroin to Cody Hillier. Cody’s girlfriend, Danielle Barzyk, stayed in the car. She never met James. Later that day, Danielle died of an overdose. James was charged with drug-induced homicide and sentenced by an all-white jury in rural Illinois. In this video, James shares his story from a federal prison, where he is serving 28 years.
"He still has a whole life here. He has a son to raise. He needs to get out."
Amy’s Story
On August 10, 2014, Amy Shemberger did what people who use drugs do every day – she took a ride to score heroin for herself and her boyfriend, Peter Kucinski. On the ride home, Amy snorted one of the bags of heroin. When she got back, Peter asked for his portion. He was having severe alcohol withdrawal and needed the heroin to feel better.
After snorting a $10 bag of heroin, Peter stopped breathing and Amy called 911. In the same day, Amy lost her boyfriend of 18 years to a fatal overodse and custody of their 5-year-old son. Two months later, Amy was charged with drug-induced homicide. In this video, Amy shares her story from prison where she is serving a seven-year sentence.
"She called 911. She did what she thought was right. And yet she was charged with a violent Class X felony called 'drug-induced homicide."
Why are these laws misguided?
They do not deter drug use or sales.
Prosecutors and legislators claim harsh penalties for drug-induced homicide will deter drug selling, and thus reduce drug use. We have heard this story before.
Yet research consistently shows that neither increased arrests nor increased severity of criminal punishment for drug law violations results in less use (demand) or sales (supply). In other words, punitive sentences for drug offenses have no deterrent effect.
Learn more about the studies that disprove the deterrent theory.
They undermine 911 Good Samaritan Laws and contribute to preventable deaths.
The most common reason people cite for not calling 911 in the event of an overdose is fear of police involvement. Recognizing this barrier, 40 states and the District of Columbia have passed “911 Good Samaritan” laws since 2007, which provide limited criminal immunity for low-level drug law violations for those who seek medical assistance for an overdose victim.
But people who could save lives are unlikely to call 911 if they fear being charged with murder or manslaughter. Elevating punishments for drug-induced homicide charges has a chilling effect on people seeking medical assistance and, as a result, leads to more, not fewer, avoidable overdose fatalities.
Learn more about why overdose witnesses are afraid to call 911.
They foster misuse of prosecutorial discretion.
Police and prosecutors widely abuse their discretion in investigating and prosecuting drug-induced homicide cases. They often promise to go after high-level drug manufacturers and distributors, but that rarely happens.
The vast majority of charges are sought against those in the best positions to seek medical assistance for overdose victims—family, friends, acquaintances, and people who sell small amounts of drugs, often to support their own drug dependence. This discourages them from seeking medical care and wastes resources that could otherwise be spent on interventions that have actually been proven successful at reducing overdose deaths.
Learn more about how prosecutors are misusing these laws.
They perpetuate racial disparities.
Enforcement of drug war policies has historically targeted black and Latino communities, and drug-induced homicide prosecutions appear to follow this pattern. If history is any indicator, black and brown people will be disproportionately targeted both as friends and family of people who died, but, more ominously, as the demonized “pushers,” “dealers,” and “peddlers”—all racially coded language.
It is critical that we curb the use of drug-induced homicide charges if we do not want to perpetuate the already appalling racial disparities in drug law enforcement.
Learn more about the potential for these laws to worsen racial disparities in drug law enforcement.
What can you do?
Hold your elected officials and prosecutors accountable.
We simply cannot let our elected officials off the hook. Not when it could be your child, friend or, simply, fellow human being, who dies from a preventable drug overdose or is locked up for murder. We need our elected officials to embrace proven, life-saving public health interventions instead of wasteful, destructive punishments.
Hear from experts and those affected by these misguided laws.
DPA held a teleconference with experts and people directly affected by drug-induced homicide laws to discuss the current landscape, the impact of drug-induced homicide enforcement, and why it is a misguided response to addressing addiction and overdose.
911 Good Samaritan Laws
Drug Overdose
Naloxone
Report