thepoliblog

Drug-fueled Murder

Ingredients and equipment for making crack cocaine. Photo by Psychonaught.

Yet another innocent was horrifically murdered by someone under the influence of PCP.

In this particular case, we have an unusual amount of detail about what was going through the murderer’s mind at the time.  He has admitted guilt, and has told us.  (See Justin Juvanal’s article in the Washington Post.)

But he apparently hasn’t been asked one of the most important questions in situations like these: Where did the killer get the drugs?  Who sold them to him?

Given the killer’s present state of remorse, he would probably answer truthfully.

If we knew who sold him the drugs, the drug seller could be be taken out of circulation.

Surely the drug seller should be charged as an accessory to the crime.  The drug seller was a knowing enabler.  In this case and in so many like it, if the killer had not been able to obtain PCP or crack cocaine, the killing would not have occurred.

In all such cases, the murderer’s willingness to identify the seller should play a huge role when sentencing the murderer.

PCP (Phencyclidine), also known as angel dust. Photo by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.