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DEFENDANT WAS CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER SECOND BASED ON THE DEATH OF A PERSON TO WHOM DEFENDANT SOLD HEROIN; THE GRAND JURY EVIDENCE DID NOT SUPPORT EITHER THE “RECKLESS” ELEMENT OF MANSLAUGHTER SECOND OR THE “CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE” ELEMENT OF CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Fahey, determined the grand jury evidence did not support the “reckless” element of manslaughter second degree or the “criminal negligence” element of criminally negligent homicide. The charges arose from defendant’s sale of heroin to the decedent, who died of an overdose:

Both recklessness and criminal negligence “require that there be a ‘substantial and unjustifiable risk’ that death or injury will occur; that the defendant engage in some blameworthy conduct contributing to that risk; and that the defendant’s conduct amount to a ‘gross deviation’ from how a reasonable person would act” … . “The only distinction between the two mental states is that recklessness requires that the defendant be ‘aware of’ and ‘consciously disregard’ the risk while criminal negligence is met when the defendant negligently fails to perceive the risk” … . … [T]he underlying conduct for both offenses is the same and involves some degree of risk creation … . … [T]he ” ‘nonperception’ of a risk, even if death results, is not enough”—rather, the defendant must have “engaged in some blameworthy conduct creating or contributing to a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death” … . * * *

The evidence demonstrated that defendant knew that the heroin he sold the decedent was strong and required caution. That the heroin was potent, however, does not equate to a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would result from the use of the heroin. The coroner, the decedent’s ex-girlfriend, and the other individual who purchased heroin from defendant all testified that it was common knowledge among heroin users that different samples or preparations of heroin had different potencies and that the strength of heroin could vary a great deal among samples. The People’s evidence demonstrated that the decedent, his ex-girlfriend, and the other individual all used the same sample of heroin purchased from defendant before July 22 and survived those encounters. People v Gaworecki, 2021 NY Slip Op 05392, Ct App 10-7-21

 

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