ON TOUGH DRUG LAWS, MU'S SUMMER INSTITUTE AND HOT'S PRODUCTION

An effort to hold dealers accountable when the illicit drugs they
peddle contributes to a death was on display this week in a Cabell
County case.

Michelle Georgette Byars appeared in federal court this week, accused
of distributing heroin leading to death. A grand jury charged her with
the crime in connection with the death of her ex-husband, Patrick L.
Byars, who died Sept. 23, 2007.

Patrick Byars' death was among 12 deaths in Cabell County that
authorities have linked to heroin since April 2007. Ten of the deaths
had occurred in a few-month period starting last September.

Federal law includes a specific charge that recognizes the linkage
between heroin distribution and causing death. Adding that severity to
the crime may act as a deterrent for some drug sellers.

It's too bad, though, that state legislation that would have imposed
stiffer penalties against drug dealers if one of their customers died
of an overdose stalled last year in the Legislature. The proposal,
which Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles helped write, called for a
penalty of up to life in prison in such cases.

The Legislature should revisit the proposal again in 2009 and pass it,
so that drug dealers are put on notice that local officials can charge
them with a more serious crime when a death occurs.