August 18, 2022
"Rachal Dollard placed a balloon pellet filled with methamphetamine in her mouth and gave it to her inmate boyfriend by kissing him, the authorities said. He later died of an overdose."
"Mr. Dollard then swallowed the balloon, apparently planning to retrieve it from the toilet after using the bathroom, the department said.
But the balloon later ruptured in his body, and Mr. Dollard died of an overdose.... The case came as prosecutors across the country increasingly treat overdose deaths as homicides, using laws devised to go after drug dealers to now charge friends and partners, and hold someone criminally accountable.... Ms. Dollard would face up to 60 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 if convicted."
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30 comments:
I believe, the correct response is: HA HA!!!
Don't call Dollard a dullard. Addiction is a disease, or so we're told.
Tax dollars at work.
I am not big on "innovative" expansion on laws to try and rope in people they would not normally cover. Laws and the consequences should be clear at the time a person takes an action. In the case of a homicide, you should do what you would do for any homicide. Did the person acting have culpability? Was it accident, negligence, or intentional? In this case he wanted the drugs and she provided them. She is culpable for negligent homicide, probably since she did not insure that the balloon would survive the transit, and at least felony possession and distribution (unless distribution requires exchange of money.) Maybe culpable for violating prison laws.
Who is she going to kiss to get HER balloon of drugs when she is on the inside?
Is he her boyfriend? Why are their last names the same?
Am I the only one who noticed the boyfriend becomes "Mr. Dollard" halfway through? The NYT is slipping. I hope the author and editor at least checked some boxes.
Who the hell could even swallow something like that other than Linda Lovelace?
People do not understand addiction.
It is not stuff to laugh at. The war on drugs is nasty and evil.
This person should have been helped with his addiction.
People should go to prison for violence and harm done to others. This sort of story on it's face is tragic. If the inmate was in prison he was probably a violent offender but that is beside the point.
@taco
Yeah, good point. The dead man is identified as her "boyfriend," "Joshua Brown, 30," then called "Mr. Dollard."
Just charge her what they ordinarily charge people with for smuggling drugs into a prison. Or charge the people who allow these smugglings to go on. How many kisses of potential death go on every day in these places?
Any mention of the nationally socialist Chinese government in the two stories about drug abuse?
"... prosecutors across the country increasingly treat overdose deaths as homicides ..."
But OH WAIT!!! Donald Trump is an "extremist" according to the Washington Post yesterday, for wanting the death penalty for drug lords. They're murderers these drug dealers! We should be giving them the death penalty.
Does the media not understand how easy it is in the modern world to juxtapose what they said just yesterday, with what they are saying 24 hours later?
So it turns out now that Donald Trump is in the mainstream of prosecutorial thought and practice across the country.
I'm pretty hardcore on law and order, and I think this overcharging is ridiculous. It offends against Justice.
'How many kisses of potential death go on every day in these places?'
You should see what gets smuggled during conjugal visits : )
Boy, talk about a deadly girlfriend !
I'd guess they were pressuring her to take a plea and got carried away. I'd note there are a bunch of January 6 rioters who are being ridiculously overcharged who are still being held without trial.
There ought to be penalties for overcharging.
On one hand, she relieved a burden. On the other hand, she relieved a burden, albeit not as a licensed agent of the State. Social progress.
Why is she being charged with murder or manslaughter? It reminds of the girl who gave John Belushi the shot of Heroin that killed him.
IRC, she walked. And so should this girl.
I don't think it's a new thing for people to be charged for causing the death of others via overdose. Cathy Smith, the lady who injected John Belushi with the heroin that killed him, was criminally charged, and she ultimately pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She did 15 months for that crime. On the facts presented here, the balloon lady apparently didn't intend the inmate's death, but that doesn't mean she isn't criminally responsible for his death, only that something less than first-degree murder would be the appropriate charge.
And to those who are suggesting this is really about drug addiction, what are you proposing, exactly? That inmates should be allowed to drugs inside of prison? That it shouldn't be a crime to smuggle drugs into prison? That people should be allowed to have in PRISON whatever thing they are addicted to in the outside world? Or that criminals who are addicts should never be sent to prison, even for non-drug crimes?
She is culpable for negligent homicide, probably since she did not insure that the balloon would survive the transit, and at least felony possession and distribution (unless distribution requires exchange of money.) Maybe culpable for violating prison laws.
Felony murder doctrine
n. a rule of criminal statutes that any death which occurs during the commission of a felony is first degree murder, and all participants in that felony or attempted felony can be charged with and found guilty of murder.
He accepted the kiss…
My body/my choice.
I think 60 years is an awfully long sentence, hard to justify for any one incident short of first-degree murder. That said, my state has had a law in place for a long time for a second-degree murder charge to someone who provides illegal drugs that kill a person. So calling this a homicide crime doesn’t seem far-fetched to me.
death penalty for drug dealers, obvi
Introducing contraband into a correctional facility is a Class D Felony where I live, punishable by a maximum of 5 years prison. Sounds like the right charge for this case. (She would probably only serve 18 to 24 months actual time before being paroled.)
It does seem she's guilty of manslaughter along with smuggling into prison. She took a reckless action which caused a death.
ROcean: I write mystery novels, and my first thought was that she killed him. Made sure the capsule, or whatever it was she passed to him, had holes or would disintegrate and … BAM … he’s dead. Of course, there must be a motive. Insurance money or an inheritance or a secret lover.
This story was even more interesting while I thought it was about Rachel Dolezal.
“Just charge her what they ordinarily charge people with for smuggling drugs into a prison. Or charge the people who allow these smugglings to go on. How many kisses of potential death go on every day in these places?”
The problem is that this sort of hiding drugs is inherently risky. For example, George Floyd swallowed his stash or merchandise twice. First time he survived. Second time - not so much so. You shoot a gun into a crowd, and someone is hit and dies. That’s BAR/BRI 2nd Degree Depraved Heart/Mind Murder. There isn’t specific intent to kill someone but rather extreme recklessness causing death. Reduce the size of the crowd, and you get into various levels of manslaughter. The point being that she was engaging in risky behavior resulting in a death. Why should this be any different from drunk driving, excess speeding, etc? She engaged in very risky behavior, and someone died as a result. Why shouldn’t people, like her, be treated exactly the same as others engaging in similarly reckless behavior resulting in death?
"Why shouldn’t people, like her, be treated exactly the same as others engaging in similarly reckless behavior resulting in death?"
Because her reckless behavior didn't cause the death; his did. She didn't force him to swallow it. That was his choice.
This story was even more interesting while I thought it was about Rachel Dolezal.
This was my first take, too, although it only lasted perhaps to the end of the first sentence. What has she been doing since she faded from the headlines, I wondered: gone from bad to worse.
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