Mixed opinions on bill that would allow murder charges against meth and fentanyl dealers in overdose deaths | News

Senator William Parkinson's bill to impose charges of aggravated murder, murder and manslaughter against meth and fentanyl dealers in overdose deaths received mixed reactions at a public hearing on Thursday.

Attorney John Morrison, deputy director of the Public Defender Service Corp., said the bill was “too far-reaching.”

“We are not talking about drug dealers like in the movies, but about someone who is barely able to make ends meet on his own,” said Morrison, referring to his experience with such cases.

Morrison said most of the drug offenses he defended did not rise to the more serious circumstances that would warrant a charge of aggravated murder, such as a contract killer.

But Justice Minister Douglas Moylan said the bill “does not go far enough.”

He said the law created mandatory prison time for drunk driving and the same should be mandated by law for meth and fentanyl use.

Moylan said Guam is dealing with meth addicts “that are emerging every day,” and he urged senators to “take a serious look at the laws that address meth possession.”

Parkinson said he agreed that his bill, 333-37, would not solve the problem alone.

“But like many walls we build to protect the people we love, we build them brick by brick,” Parkinson said.

Bill 333-37 would specifically add “Schedule II” controlled substances such as methamphetamine and fentanyl to the list of drugs that can lead to premeditated murder, murder or manslaughter charges against dealers accused of a drug overdose death.

Parkinson said Bill 333-37 “addresses a serious threat to the community … and specifically targets the dealers who knowingly and recklessly” fuel the drug crisis.

The bill addresses one of the recommendations of the Guam Criminal Law Procedural Commission, which is working to update Guam's 48-year-old criminal code.

Parkinson introduced it as a standalone measure to be enacted as soon as possible to address the “alarming” meth and fentanyl crisis, which has resulted in 24 methamphetamine overdoses in one year and seven fentanyl deaths in recent years.