WOMAN GETS 12-YEAR TERM IN DRUG DEATH

Frain Prepared OxyContin Injection That Killed Man

An admitted OxyContin addict was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison
for preparing an injection of the prescription narcotic that killed a
37-year-old man on a drug binge.

Laura Frain, right, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Escambia County
Circuit Judge Terry Terrell in the death of Eric Seese.

Tony Giberson @PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Laura Frain pleaded for leniency from Circuit Judge Terry Terrell. She said
she was in the throes of a brutal opiate addiction that had taken her
career, husband and child when she found herself in May 2001 at the
late-night party in Cantonment that left Eric Seese dead.

She apologized to Seese's family and spoke of her determination to turn
others away from drug abuse.

"Eric Seese is a part of my life now. His blood is on my hands, and it
always will be," she said. But "as long as I'm alive, Eric's life and death
will not be meaningless."

Seese, with his wife, Holly, invited Frain and her friend, Roger
Livingston, back to their home after meeting them for the first time a few
hours earlier at the Scenic Hills Lounge.

It would be Eric Seese's last party.

The case is a testimony to the tragedy of substance abuse, Terrell said
before he ruled.

"We're talking about two lives that have been destroyed," he said.

The 12-year sentence, to be followed by three years of probation, was in
the middle of the 9-to- 15-year range reached in a plea agreement. Charged
with first-degree murder, Frain, 36, was facing life in prison when she
pleaded guilty May 19 to manslaughter.

The first-degree murder trial of Livingston is pending; his next court
appearance is scheduled for Aug. 26. Prosecutors say he supplied the
OxyContin and injected it into Seese's foot.

The testimony Wednesday was added to the first sentencing hearing June 20,
which could not be completed because of the number of witnesses who wanted
to testify.

In front of a courtroom packed with more than 50 of her supporters, Frain
tried to explain that, in the drug culture, what she did - prepare an
injection for someone who asked for it - seemed natural.

"In the drug world, being asked to fix somebody else's fix is like being
asked to fix somebody a cup of tea," she said.

Frain, and friends from Brownsville Assembly of God, testified she found
the Lord after she was jailed and has committed herself to helping other
inmates.

"I'm here to plead mercy (from) man's court, to give me a lighter sentence
that I can go out and do good," Frain said.

Terrell heard from the prosecution at the first sentencing hearing, in
which Seese's relatives from Texas, and his widow, testified. Holly Seese
mourned the loss of her husband, a successful computer software salesman
proud of his accomplishments.

"He felt like he came from humble beginnings so he was very proud of what
he had obtained for us," she said.

She laid the blame for his death on Frain and Livingston.

"I would like for you to know how difficult it is to be a widow at 27," she
said.

Assistant State Attorney Brenda Neel asked for a 15-year sentence but said
she and the family are satisfied with 12 years.