There is no question that fentanyl-related deaths have risen in recent years. The federal government has taken notice and is aggressively prosecuting people who provide others with drugs that end up laced with fentanyl that resulted in death. At Chambers Law Firm we have handled many of these cases and can help you if you are facing these charges.
The federal government is stepping in where state prosecutors are not pursuing charges. This leads to our clients facing federal drug charges, which can result in more serious punishment and other consequences.
Under federal law, if you provide drugs to someone and those drugs result in serious bodily injury or death, the mandatory minimum can be as high as 20 years in prison up to life in prison. This is treated just like a murder charge. If you provide drugs and it is established that those drugs provided a fatal dose, you could face the rest of your life in federal prison.
There are defense options to charges related to fentanyl deaths
The good news is that if you are facing these charges, there are defense options we can use to secure your freedom. One example, if the person who died of the overdose regularly consumes drugs, it is likely that they buy their drugs from numerous sources.
In that case, we will force the prosecutor to prove that the dose you provide was the fatal dose. In most cases, it is difficult or impossible for the prosecutor to do so. It is not enough for the prosecutor to prove that you provided drugs – they must prove that you provided the specific fatal dose that led to the death.
Another potential defense is that the drug you provided was not the drug that killed them or was only one of the drugs. If the autopsy shows that the deceased had several drugs in their system at the time of their death, then the prosecutor will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the drug you provided was the only cause of death. This is once again difficult to impossible to prove.
You Need a Skilled Attorney Who Has Experience with Fentanyl Cases
These cases can be complex and require advanced knowledge of forensic science. If you are facing a federal or state drug charge related to fentanyl, you need an attorney who has specific experience in this area.
At Chambers Law Firm we are actively handling several fentanyl drug cases at the time of this blog posting. We understand the science, the law, and the politics behind these charges. Contact us at 714-760-4088 to request a free legal consultation and let us help you today.
