WASHINGTON: A convicted heroin trafficker will not have to serve the tough, 20-year mandatory federal prison sentence usually imposed when an illicit drug deal ends in the user’s death, the US Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
In a case that defines some of the parameters of America’s strict “mandatory minimum” prison sentences, the court ruled that the law does not apply in the case of defendant Marcus Burrage, even though an addict who purchased drugs from him later died of an overdose.
The law might have applied, if it were clear that the heroin Burrage sold drug addict Joshua Banka was the direct cause of his death. But the court noted that in addition to the heroin, other drugs were responsible for Banka’s overdose.
AFP
