D.A. TRIES TO SEND MESSAGE; FAMILY SAYS CHARGES FACING TEEN TOO HARSH

Prosecutors in Williamson County say they want to set an example with
18-year-old Brandi Gussow, but some think charging her with
second-degree murder is heavy-handed and an abuse of the law.

For Mark Gussow, Brandi's father, the authorities in Williamson County
are victimizing his grief-stricken family all over again.

"Brandi - she's suffered enough," Gussow said. "Our whole family
has suffered enough. We lost our son, and now all this is going to
happen. We're the victim twice."

Brandi Gussow is accused of giving LSD to her brother, Shawn, 15,
before the boy walked along Interstate 40 in Nashville. Shawn Gussow
was killed when at least one car hit him at the I-40/I-65 interchange
Feb. 4, 2001.

Mark Gussow said his daughter spent months in counseling dealing with
her brother's death, and now the family is dealing with the murder
charge. "She's scared," he said.

Brandi Gussow was advised by her attorney not to talk to the media,
her father said.

A friend who walked along I-40 with Shawn Gussow that night told
police the teen was "running out in front of vehicles," according to
a Metro Police report. The friend told police that Shawn Gussow took
four or five hits of acid and said he wanted to die, the report said.

Metro Police said Brandi Gussow gave LSD to her brother in Williamson
County before the two and an adult uncle and some friends went to
Nashville to see a concert downtown.

Brandi Gussow was arrested last month and charged as a juvenile with
second-degree murder. She was 17 at the time of her brother's death,
but her case was transferred to Williamson County criminal court last
week. If she is indicted by the Williamson County grand jury when it
meets next month, she will be tried as an adult. She remains free on
bond.

Gussow is being charged under a section of the second-degree murder
statute that covers "unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or
Schedule II drug when such drug is proven to be the proximate cause of
death of the user."

Williamson County prosecutors say they're sending a
message.

"To anyone that is going to distribute a Schedule I or Schedule II
drug - that message is that if somebody dies from their illegal
distribution from the drug, they will be prosecuted," said Williamson
County Assistant District Attorney Matt Colvard.

Colvard said the case had to be prosecuted because of the death
involved, even if it was Gussow's brother.

"If she'd shot her brother with a shotgun, should we have not
prosecuted her for that?" Colvard said. "Just because it's her
brother, should we not prosecute her?"

For Williamson County officials, the law is very clear: Brandi Gussow
is accused of giving her brother a drug that caused his death.

Colvard said he could not find another case in Tennessee in which a
sibling or friend was charged under this particular section of the
second-degree murder statute.

Nashville attorney David Raybin, who helped write the part of the
Tennessee criminal code that deals with such crimes, said the law was
designed to prosecute drug dealers and for people who distribute drugs
to someone who overdoses.

"This seems more like a casual exchange of drugs between children is
what we've got here, but I don't think that statute was designed to
deal with that," Raybin said.

Raybin said prosecutors also must show that Gussow was aware there was
a high risk that her brother could die from using the drug.

"The burden on the prosecutor is enormous," Raybin said. To meet the
standard of second-degree murder "she has to know and be aware of the
high risk that he would die from handing him the drug," he said.

"So, she may have been irresponsible in giving him the drugs, but I
don't know that she could recklessly foresee that he could die in
this, particularly since he didn't die from an overdose."

Raybin said the actions Gussow is charged with sound more like they
meet the definition of criminally negligent homicide. If the case goes
to trial, he said, the jury will have the option of convicting Gussow
of that lesser charge.

The difference is significant. Punishment for second-degree murder is
15-25 years without parole.

Punishment for criminally negligent homicide is one to two
years.