Wis. Liability Law That Targets Drug Dealers Sparks Debate

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A Wisconsin state law that makes drug dealers liable when their products kill can give families of the deceased a measure of redemption. But others critics are beginning to argue that the law holds one person responsible for the mistake of another.

The 1988 state law allows prosecutors to charge drug dealers with homicide when someone to whom they distribute drugs dies.

But critics of the law say users know what they’re doing is both dangerous and illegal.

A Madison defense attorney said that, “the concept being someone who voluntarily used a dangerous substance that kills them can hold someone else responsible.”

But Assistant District Attorney Jason Hanson of Madison likens these cases to those of drunk driving homicides, in which the killer had no intent to kill. In either case, society still expects the individual to be punished, he said.

Since 2002, Dane County prosecutors have charged people under the law 21 times, far more than any other state county.

Authorities there say the number reflects improved investigative techniques, not a concerted effort to prosecute overdose cases.

Milwaukee County sees dozens more deaths due to drug overdose than Dane County does but few of Milwaukee’s cases have been prosecuted as homicides. That’s because proving these cases is so challenging, said Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann.

To successfully prosecute, a medical examiner has to determine what drug was involved and whether it was a “substantial factor” in the death. Then authorities have to prove who provided the drug, an issue that often relies on the word of witnesses who are generally drug users themselves and not always viewed as credible.

Madison police Detective Tim Hammond said police now investigate overdose deaths the same way they investigate homicides, gathering and preserving potential evidence.

But pursuing these cases isn’t useful to society, said Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, a law and drug-policy advocacy group based in Silver Spring, Md.

“Everybody who sells drugs knows that what they’re doing is illegal,” Sterling said. “Does treating and prosecuting these as homicides change that equation? No, it does not. Have long sentences changed their behavior? No, they have not.”

But Hanson said the law could cause dealers to think twice about their behavior.