Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2002
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2002 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:  http://www.star-telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162
Author:  Russell Contreras, The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

COUPLE INDICTED OVER IGNORING SON'S HEROIN ADDICTION

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A couple showed "conscious disregard" for their 
18-year-old son by ignoring the heroin use that killed him, a grand jury 
said in a manslaughter indictment that legal experts say raises questions 
about parental liability.

Criminal law experts said the indictment handed up Tuesday is "very 
unusual" because Mary and Lewis Hockenbury are not accused of selling or 
giving drugs to their son. Leonardo DiPasquale died of an overdose at the 
couple's home last year.

"Criminal law doesn't prosecute a failure to act. It only prosecutes acts," 
said George Thomas, professor of law at Rutgers School of Law in Newark, N.J.

Prosecutor Katharine Errickson said the Lebanon Township parents were not 
presented as possible defendants to the grand jury. "But after the hearing 
all the evidence, jurors decided on their own they wanted to consider a 
charge of manslaughter against the parents," she said.

The grand jury saw evidence of "conscious disregard" by the couple for 
their son, Errickson said. She did not elaborate.

The Hockenburys didn't return phone calls Thursday from The Associated 
Press. They could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Three friends of DiPasquale were also indicted, accused of giving him drugs.

Sandra Guerra Thompson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law 
Center, said prosecutors will have a tough time proving that the couple 
knew DiPasquale's heroin use would contribute to his death.

"Relatives living in the same home may have a legal duty to rescue each 
other if in trouble, like choking, for example," Thompson said. "But people 
who take heroin don't normally die."

In recent years, some states have passed laws that hold parents liable for 
a child's crimes. But Thompson said courts have consistently declared those 
laws unconstitutional.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl