Pubdate: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 Source: News Journal (DE) Copyright: 2006 The News Journal Contact: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/opinion/index.html Website: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/822 TAINTED DRUGS LED TO CREATIVE APPROACH IN US ATTORNEY'S CHARGES The message that U.S. Attorney Colm Connolly sent on Thursday to dealers of deadly fentanyl-laced heroin was needed. They face mandatory federal jail time -- from 20 years to as much as life in prison -- when their tainted batches of dope kill or seriously harm buyers. This is the first time in Delaware that prosecutors have invoked a federal law with no regard for a criminal's intent. It's a tough call needed for tough times in drug enforcement. Across the country, at least 300 deaths, and hundreds more non-fatal overdoses, have been blamed on fentanyl-laced heroin just this year. Since April, more than 30 heroin overdoses have been reported in Delaware, including nine known deaths. A Dover man was among those deaths. He allegedly purchased the tainted heroin from Joseph Bentley, a suspected New Castle-area drug dealer. Three days after the user's death, wiretaps of phone conversations between Bentley and his father, a Delaware Correctional Center inmate, recorded the son learning that his batches were tainted. He also said a second person died, but gave no name. But even this news did not stop Joseph Bentley from selling his bad batches; that is until his May 5 arrest, police say. Mr. Connolly's use of this law is meant to address this kind of egregious disregard for life. Tainted drugs are not likely to go away. A criminally minded genius keeps them fueling the illegal drug trade around the world. Consequently, law enforcement authorities must be equally imaginative and creative within the bounds of the law. Critics worried about the de-emphasis on dealers' intent should weigh that concern against the consequences of a dealer's lack of regard for their victims' lives. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman