“Taylor’s Law,” a good but flawed proposal
March 22, 2019
Taylor Martinek, a collegiate football player at Portland State University, underwent several shoulder surgeries and was prescribed the opioid Oxycontin in an attempt to cope with the pain. This unfortunately led him down the dark path of becoming addicted to the drug, using it unnecessarily. After 4 years of addiction, on January of 2017, Taylor was found dead in his apartment, overdosed on Oxycontin tablets laced with the other infamous killer opioid fentanyl.
Those who were investigated and convicted as the dealers of said drugs were given light sentences and probation, as no law in Oregon able to devote any harsher punishment. The parents of Taylor plan to change that, pushing House Bill 2797, or “Taylor’s Law”, to a public hearing in Salem on March 7th.
The bill proposes a minimum five year prison sentence to dealers whose product results in the death of a buyer of theirs, with a maximum of eleven years given the convicted dealers previous criminal record. At first glance this proposal would seem rational to give justice to the victims of a bad deal.
However complications arise with a law so black and white for a situation that is anything but. For example, should the dealer who personally delivered the drugs to the buyer be at fault, or rather the culprit that supplied the dealer in the first place? There may be little way to determine which person delivered the fatal dose.
Furthermore, if the dealer gave the buyer an amount not to be taken all at once, made the buyer aware of this, yet the buyer overdoses on a dose the dealer told them not to take, should the dealer still be blamed for the buyer’s death?
Morally this proposed law is more than justifiable, in fact it’s concerning that to this point there aren’t more laws similar to it in place. Still, there need to be adjusted exceptions to Taylor’s Law before it can be used to lock the right criminals away.
Opioid dealers could soon be found liable for addicts’ deaths. (Photo Courtesy of KPTV.com)
Brian Martinek • Mar 5, 2023 at 1:59 pm
The Taylor’s Law Bill is actually HB 2906. We are asking for a hearing by the House Judiciary committee and have to have one scheduled by March 17th. The Law is designed to prosecute dealers making money off of the addiction and deaths of people. The scenarios described in the article would not effect the fair application of the law.
John Kerr • Mar 1, 2023 at 10:40 am
With all do respect, the Law is not flawed…you are flawed ! Examine your thoughts and you will see in the mirror that your motives are flawed. These victims should not die because of your evaluation of the semantics involved. “Mankind was not created for the Law, the Law was created to help mankind”. Meaning the primary problem is the Deaths of these people. The legal semantics will always have catch 22’s. It will take years of trial and error to work out which part of the drug Cartel are most guilty. We must dent the Drug Cartels distribution system immediately! Pass Taylor’s Law !