House Bill 607

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT TO CREATE "PARKER'S LAW"; TO CREATE THE CRIME OF "CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE DELIVERY RESULTING IN DEATH"; TO PROVIDE THE PENALTY FOR SUCH CRIME; TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION FOR THOSE WHO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

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

SECTION 2. (1) A person commits the crime of "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 another person, death to the person results from the proximate cause of injection, oral ingestion or inhalation of the controlled substance. Upon conviction for violating the provisions of this section, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment no less than twenty (20) years to a term of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

(2) For purposes of this act 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.

(3) For purposes of this act, the phrase "in exchange for anything of value" does not apply to the act of sharing a controlled substance when the sharing results in the proximate cause of a person's death under this section.

(4) The legislative intent for this bill is to assist in prosecuting any person that sells or otherwise profits from the sale of a controlled substance that causes the death of another person. It is not the intent of this Legislature for the provisions of this section to be used to prosecute a drug user or drug addict who has shared a controlled substance with a friend or associate and the friend or associate dies as a result of the sharing.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit, restrict or otherwise prohibit an indictment or conviction for any other crime that may be related to a violation of this section.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.