California Prosecutors Charge Fentanyl Suppliers with Murder Amid Crisis

Using a legal strategy borrowed from drunk driving cases, officials aim to combat the deadly drug's impact.

California prosecutors are increasingly charging fentanyl suppliers with murder, reflecting public outcry over the drug's lethal impact.
The legal strategy involves using the Watson murder rule, historically applied to drunk driving cases, to prosecute fentanyl-related deaths.
Critics argue this approach is unconstitutional and a return to failed drug policies of the 1990s, while supporters see it as a necessary response to the fentanyl crisis.
In Riverside County alone, 34 fentanyl suppliers have been charged with murder, with one conviction already secured.
San Francisco and other California cities are preparing to investigate fentanyl deaths as homicides, signaling a shift in drug crime prosecution.