The Georgia House is expected to consider criminal justice legislation designed to toughen penalties for people who sell fentanyl that causes an overdose and a bill that gives police officers more pay while recovering from severe injuries sustained on the job.
A bipartisan Senate majority supported legislation voted to create the crime of aggravated involuntary manslaughter for those convicted of delivering or selling drugs laced with fentanyl that cause the death of another person. The measure is now before the House chamber, which has until March 28 to pass legislation for this year.
The bill is named after former Lowndes County resident Austin Walters, who, while suffering from anxiety and depression in 2021, purchased fentanyl-laced Xanax pills. In September 2021, Walters was killed by a single pill laced with fentanyl after suffering from anxiety resulting in him seeking drugs off the street.
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