PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Rhode Island Senate has approved a bill that would allow life sentences for drug dealers who sell drugs that lead to fatal overdoes.
The measure known as Kristen’s Law passed the Senate 25-8 on Thursday.
The Providence Journal reports that Democratic Sen. Frank Lombardi says the possibility of drug dealer getting a life sentence for selling a fatal dose of a controlled substance was needed to combat the opioid crisis.
Opponents feared the bill would excessively punish low-level dealers, who often don’t know what is in what they’re selling, instead of the higher-level dealers.
Medical professionals had opposed the bill.
The law is named for Kristen Coutu, who died in 2014 of a fentanyl overdose when she thought she was taking heroin.
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