Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s push to strengthen the criminal penalties for drug dealers who sell fatal doses has moved one step closer to law, as the House of Representatives approved the bill sponsored by Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senator Hannah Gallo dubbed Kristen’s Law.

The bill is named after Kristen Coutu, who bought a $40 package of heroin from a drug dealer named Aaron Andrade in 2015. The drugs he sold her were actually fentynal, and Coutu died after taking them.

The incident sparked a Cranston police investigation into Andrade and found a string of non-fatal overdoses traced back to drugs he sold. Andrade later pleaded no contest to first-degree felony murder and second-degree murder, becoming the first drug dealer in the state to be convicted of murder in connection with an overdose death, according to a release from the House.

‘Kristen’s Law’ states that drug dealers would be criminally responsible for any delivery that results in death, even deaths that don’t occur within the transaction. 

“The opioid crisis is killing Rhode Islanders daily, and we must take a comprehensive approach to fix the problem, and that approach must include a role for the criminal justice system,” said Kilmartin in a statement. “To think that the criminal justice system does not have a role to play in holding drug dealers criminally accountable for deaths that result from their illegal activity is shortsighted and naïve.”

Protect Families First, which according to their website is a non-profit working towards promoting drug policies and practices that promote community health and safety, issued a statement opposing the bill.

“On behalf of the medical, public health, and recovery communities, we are very disappointed in the House of Representative’s vote to pass Kristen’s Law,” the statement said. “This ‘revenge’ bill endangers public health efforts to effectively address the overdose crisis, doubling down on ineffective and costly efforts.”

The statement concluded with a request for Governor Gina Raimondo to veto the bill.

“We understand that this is a complex issue, but we need to send a strong message to drug traffickers – if you knowingly deliver deadly doses of drugs, you will face very serious consequences,” Kilmartin said. “Overdose deaths should always be looked at through a law enforcement prism as distributors of these deadly drugs know exactly what they are selling while the person who suffers from a substance use disorder may not be aware of what he or she is taking.”

Currently, Rhode Island does not have a statute that addresses all instances of unlawful drug deliveries that result in death, according to the House statement. A statute currently exists to allow for prosecutors to charge drug dealers who provide lethal drugs to minors.

The bill was amended to state that individuals who share drugs with a victim wouldn’t be prosecuted the same way as the sellers. It was also amended to clarify that its intent was to hold drug traffickers accountable, rather than to criminally prosecute drug users with substance abuse disorders.

“Drug traffickers who are selling these deadly substances to those struggling with addiction need to be held criminally liable for the deaths they cause,” Kilmartin said. “Kristen’s Law ensures that Rhode Island General Laws provide that liability.”