2018 -- H 7715 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - HOMICIDE

     Introduced By: Representatives Mattiello, Jacquard, Lima, Serpa, and Corvese

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2018

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Kristen's Law."

     SECTION 2. Section 11-23-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-23 entitled "Homicide"

is hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-23-6. Controlled substance transaction resulting in death of minor.

     Any person convicted of the sale who sells, delivery delivers or distribution distributes of

a controlled substance, the sale of which would constitute a felony under chapter 28 of title 21, to

a minor, or of knowingly provides providing a controlled substance for sale, delivery or

distribution to a minor, and death has resulted to the minor because of the ingestion orally, by

injection, or by inhalation of the controlled substance, shall be imprisoned for life.

     SECTION 3. Chapter 11-23 of the General Laws entitled "Homicide" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following section:

     11-23-7. Controlled substance delivery resulting in death.

     (a) A person is guilty of a controlled substance delivery resulting in death when, as a

result of an unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in exchange for anything of value to an

adult, death results to that adult because of the ingestion orally, injection, or inhalation of the

controlled substance.

     (b) A person is guilty of a controlled substance delivery resulting in death when, as a

result of an unlawful delivery of a controlled substance to another person who subsequently

delivers such controlled substance to an adult, death results to that adult because of the ingestion

orally, injection, or inhalation of the controlled substance.

     (c) Those in violation of subsections (a) or (b) of this section, upon conviction, shall be

imprisoned up to life.

     (d) For the purposes of this section only, any person who, in good faith, without malice

and in the absence of evidence of an intent to defraud, seeks medical assistance for someone

experiencing a controlled substance overdose shall not be charged or prosecuted for a violation of

this section, if the evidence for the charge was gained as a result of the seeking of medical

assistance.

     (e) The phrase "in exchange for anything of value" does not apply to the act of sharing a

controlled substance when said sharing results in the proximate cause of a person's death under

this section.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - HOMICIDE

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     This act would create a new criminal offense for the delivery of a controlled substance

resulting in death.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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