
Document
From New Hampshire Public Radio
Two friends share drugs. One overdoses and dies. The other survives. Is that murder?Amid the deadliest drug crisis in history, America is often answering "yes" to that question. Prosecutors are increasingly treating overdose deaths as homicides, locking up drug dealers who sell fentanyl to people living with addiction — people who are often addicted themselves. Some see justice and accountability in convictions under so-called "death resulting" laws. Some see a new and widening front in America's failed War on Drugs. In Death Resulting, we hone in on one of these homicide cases and meet a young man facing a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence in federal prison for his friend's death. Along the way we examine the forces that shape that case — from a cycle of generational trauma and addiction to the racist origins and current impacts of these prosecutions.So...an accident — or a homicide? Our answer could shape how we address the deadliest overdose crisis in American history.