Burrage v. United States and Punishment of Drug Overdose in the United States

It’s no secret how the United States government feels about drug crimes.  With one of the largest drug consuming populations in the world waging one of the longest wars on drugs, the United States government punishes drug dealers and users harshly for their respective contributions to the illicit business.  In order to deter the dealers and users from continuing to transact deals, the federal government enacted 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(b)(1)(C) in 2010 to increase sentencing minimums for dealers whose drugs caused a user to overdose.

Holder Signals Changes Coming to Criminal Law

On April 9, 2014, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. spoke at the Annual Convention for the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded by Reverend Al Sharpton.  Holder began by honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was killed on April 4, 1968, almost exactly forty six years from the date of the convention.  Holder acknowledged that Dr. King dedicated his life to building a more just society and left us with a charge to “confront the challenges of our time.”  Holder praised NAN for their work, and for advancing “the cause of justice that has always been at the center of [the Obama] Administration’s work.”  Thus, Holder seemingly proposed “justice” as the foundation of Obama’s criminal policy, and compared the goals of the Administration to those of Dr. King.