Drug Crimes: Drug Delivery resulting in death

On Behalf of | Jul 6, 2016 | Drug Crimes

one oof the most serious types of Drug Crimes is the charge of Drug Delivery resulting in death.  In order to be convicted of Drug Crimes such as drug delivery resulting in death, the government must meet several burdens.  Heroin  Under the old statute in Pennsylvania for drug delivery resulting in death, a person commits murder of the third degree who administers, dispenses, delivers, gives, prescribes, sells or distributes any controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance in violation of section 13(a)(14) or (30) of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, and another person dies as a result of using the substance. The mandatory minimum sentence for this offense under the old statute is a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of $15,000, or such a larger amount as is sufficient to exhaust the assets utilized in the proceeds from the illegal activity.

It was not until 2011 that the Pennsylvania legislature revised the charge. Upon revision, drug delivery resulting is death is no longer considered murder of the third degree, but rather a felony of the first degree. Drug Crimes and Reasonable Suspicion  The changes in the statute means that the state is only required to prove that the defendant acted recklessly and not that they had the intent for the victim to die. The changes were made to the statute with the intention of making it easier to convict and impose greater penalties on individuals who sold drugs when those drugs resulted in the death of another.

​Under the current statute for drug delivery resulting in death in Pennsylvania, a person commits a felony of the first degree if the person intentionally administers, dispenses, delivers, gives, prescribes, sells or distributes any controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance in violation of section 13(a)(14) or (30) of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, and another person dies as a result of using the substance. The penalty for this crime is a maximum of 40 years. In November 2015, the PA Superior Court rejected a challenge to the “drug delivery resulting in death” charge. This means that the state does not need to prove that the defendant had intent to kill the victim or for the victim to die as a result of using the substances

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