To: The Virginia State House, The Virginia State Senate, and Governor Ralph Northam
Virginia: Give automatic manslaughter charges for failure to call for help
Intentional failure to call for help when another person overdoses on drugs should result in charges for the life that has been lost. Please consider giving a mandatory manslaughter charge to any persons involved in letting someone die by waiting too long to call for help.
Why is this important?
Three times I have been called and informed that a friend has been lost to heroin. Two out of three of these did not have to end in death - the other person or people doing the drugs with them failed to call for help in a timely manner when my friends overdosed. In one of these instances they waited for HOURS. Why were they not arrested at once? Why is an investigation needed? The doctor said this friend would have lived if help was sought after immediately. It seems pretty cut and dry.... intentional negligence is claiming lives when these people could have been saved. It is happening all the time, and those who are not impacted don't even know it. Those who stand by and do nothing should be automatically detained on pending manslaughter charges, and if a homicide investigation is warranted they can sit in custody while the detectives complete that. Stop letting them get away with this. Parents are losing children, children are losing their parents, and we are losing friends, while people who had an opportunity to seek help roam freely.