Jeff wrote on Monday about efforts by North Carolina government officials to combat the opioid epidemic.The initiatives he highlighted, such as addiction treatment and needle exchange programs, primarily attack the problem from a public health perspective. Jeff noted the contrast between this approach and the criminal-drug-law enforcement response to the spread of crack cocaine in the 1990s. That’s not to say, however, that the criminal justice system isn’t responding to the current crisis. In counties across the State, including New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Union, and Wake, prosecutors are pursuing second-degree murder charges against defendants who are alleged to have provided the opioids leading to victims’ deaths. This post explores the basis for murder charges based on the unlawful distribution of drugs and what the State must prove at trial to establish a defendant’s guilt. Murder by drugs. G.S. 14-17(b)(2) defines as second degree murder a murder that was proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of opioids, cocaine or its derivatives, or methamphetamine, if the ingestion of that substance caused the user’s death. Second degree murder under this theory is punished as a Class B2 felony. To establish a defendant’s guilt under G.S. 14-17(b)(2), the State must prove four elements beyond a reasonable doubt: The victim’s death was caused by ingesting opium, cocaine, or one of their derivatives, or methamphetamine; The defendant intentionally and unlawfully distributed the specified substance; The defendant’s unlawful distribution of the substance was a proximate cause of the victim’s death; and The defendant acted with malice. N.C.P.I. – [...]
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