Increase in fentanyl overdoses causes Oklahoma DA to take new approach to getting murder convictions

SALLISAW, Okla. — An increase in drug overdoses from fentanyl is causing one eastern Oklahoma district attorney to take a new approach to cases where someone dies from drugs sold to them.

FOX23 spoke with District Attorney Jack Thorp who said this will become the new normal for cases in his counties.

“We’re worried to death because it is killing our Oklahoma citizens. That's why we’re really working these overdose cases as murder cases because we have to prove who's bringing the drugs because we have to stop it,” Thorp said.

Thorp is the district attorney for Wagoner, Cherokee, Adair and Sequoyah Counties.

Thorp talked about one case that will change the way they go about charging criminals in his part of the state moving forward.

“It was a case that came out of Sallisaw, Oklahoma. It was in Sequoyah County where law enforcement investigated and it appeared to be a fentanyl drug overdose,” Thorp said.

Shawna Pratt is an alleged drug dealer that Thorp said sold fentanyl that killed Joshua Choate.

Pratt was already initially charged with first-degree murder, but now Thorp wants to give the jury an option of second-degree murder by imminently dangerous conduct.

To get a second-degree murder conviction, the following five elements have to be proved.

• Being the death of someone.
• It was caused by an action deemed imminently dangerous to someone.
• The action that caused the death was that of the person on trial.
• The action was done with extreme disregard of human life.
• It wasn’t done with the intention of taking a life but a death happened anyway.

“We believe distribution of fentanyl, which most people understand is killing people, is an imminently dangerous conduct,” Thorp said.

He said in this case, Pratt allegedly being the drug dealer gave Choate a drug that led to his death.

“I think it's important that everybody understands that this is on the street and it's everywhere. We are worried to death because it is killing our Oklahoma citizens,” Thorp said.

Thorp said they want people who are selling these drugs to know if you give somebody drugs and it kills them, they will be investigating and possibly prosecuting you for first-degree murder.