Being accused of distributing drugs here in Wisconsin can expose a person to all kinds of serious consequences. The potential consequences can be considerably larger if it is alleged that the drugs the person was accused of distributing resulted in an overdose death. This is because of something called the “Len Bias law.”
Wisconsin put such a law in place back in the late 1980’s. This law allows drug dealers to be charged with reckless homicide in connection to overdose deaths of people they provided drugs to.
Purportedly, use of this law by prosecutors in the state may be on the increase. Recently, use of this law popped up in a case involving a man from Milwaukee.
Police allege that this man provided heroin to a man who purportedly suffered a fatal drug overdose. It is alleged that the Milwaukee man was involved in a drug deal to the now-deceased man, and that he gave this man some of his own heroin after the man complained of having been “shorted” in the deal.
A first degree reckless homicide charge has been brought against the Milwaukee man over this matter through the state’s Len Bias Law.
So, allegations of distributing drugs could in some cases even lead to a person facing homicide charges. Homicide charges carry remarkably serious penalties, and can raise all manner of unique and major issues in criminal proceedings. So, when a person accused of delivering drugs here in Wisconsin is facing charges under the state’s Len Bias Law, getting strong defense guidance on the special issues their case raises can be critical for them.
Source: Waukesha Patch, “Fatal Heroin Dose Leads to Man Charged Under State ‘Len Bias’ Law,” Scott Anderson, Feb. 9, 2017