Many parents here in Derry might be able to sympathize with a family that wants someone to pay for the death of their son who died of a drug overdose. His best friend was arrested and charged in connection with that tragedy. Recently, his criminal defense team reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that was approved by the court.
In Sept. 2014, the 25-year-old man and his now-deceased best friend, who was 22 at the time of his death, drove into one of New Hampshire’s neighboring states to purchase heroin from someone who the convicted man knew. The two men then drove back into New Hampshire and got high. Tragically, the younger of the two men was dead by the next morning.
It was not until July 2015 that his best friend was charged with his death, since he provided the drugs to him. While in court, the man told his friend’s family that he could never apologize enough for what happened. The fact is that his best friend’s death was a tragic accident, and he will have to live with the fact that he was involved in it for the rest of his life.
The dead man’s family asked the court to sentence his friend to at least five years in prison. The court sentenced him to between three and 13 years. However, under the plea agreement, he could be eligible for parole after the successful completion of a drug program at the prison that lasts approximately six months.
Derry residents might agree that everyone makes mistakes. In this case, the mistake ended with the death of a man’s best friend. The question then becomes whether he deserved to spend several years in prison for it. His criminal defense team did not think so, and ultimately, neither did prosecutors or the court.
Source: wmur.com, “Man pleads guilty to providing fatal dose of heroin to best friend“, Jennifer Crompton, June 17, 2016
