The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charging the man who allegedly sold actor Michael K. Williams a deadly dose of fentanyl last September with causing his death – an offense that could land him in prison for life. But as prosecutors increasingly use this aggressive tool to stem the tide of overdose deaths, politicians, public health experts, and victims’ families disagree about whether dealing deadly drugs should have the same legal consequences as homicide. 

Williams’ alleged dealer, Irvin “Green Eyes” Cartagena, 39, was arrested Tuesday in Puerto Rico on conspiracy drug charges for selling fentanyl-based heroin that resulted in Williams’ death. The so-called “death resulting” or “drug-induced homicide” charge — created by Congress in 1986 during the war on drugs but increasingly used in recent years — carries a sentence of 20 years to life, and has become a tool that prosecutors in New York and nationwide use in selected cases. 

There have been at least 128 people in New York charged with causing deaths through overdoses, according to an analysis by the Health In Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University. Nationwide, data shows prosecutors have filed most of those charges in the last 13 years, as opioid overdoses reached crisis levels.

WNYC reporter Matt Katz spoke to host David Furst about the case on Morning Edition. For more on the story, go to Gothamist.com.