PROSECUTOR APPEALS ECSTACY DECISION

PITTSBURGH -- A prosecutor has appealed a judge's decision to dismiss
murder charges against a man accused of selling Ecstasy to a 16-year-old
girl who died last year.

Brandy French, 16, died in May 2001 after taking the drug for the first
time. Authorities say Gregory Ludwig sold it to her friends the night before.

Under state law, drug delivery resulting in death is a form of third-degree
murder, but County Judge Jeffrey Manning threw out the charge, saying it
allowed prosecutors to skirt the requirement that malice be proved.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala argued in his appeal
that the act of selling drugs constitutes malice.

Ludwig's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, said the problem is a poorly written
statute.

"Murder is an intentional crime; it imputes malice, hardness of heart or
cruelty," Thomassey said Saturday. "You cannot have malice in a situation
where you have a willing seller and a willing buyer."

French's parents have sued four of her friends and one of their mothers,
saying they didn't do enough to help when the girl fell ill after taking
the drug.