A father’s fight: New Georgia law targeting fentanyl dealers sees results
When his son died after taking a fentanyl-laced Xanax pill roughly four years ago, Gus Walters was astonished to learn no one would be held accountable for selling the deadly drug.
In hopes of finding answers amid his heartbreak, the South Georgia man decided to reach out to his state senator, Republican Russ Goodman of Homerville, about ways to create stricter penalties for those who sell or distribute the synthetic opioid, which is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Their relentless actions led to a new Georgia law in 2024 that does just that — fittingly named after Walters’ son, Austin.
Following the passage of Senate Bill 465, law enforcement officials and district attorney’s offices have begun to arrest and convict those responsible using the new charge: aggravated involuntary manslaughter.
It’s a big step, they said, as prosecutors essentially only have to prove the defendant sold an illegal drug and that fentanyl was what killed the victim. The punishment ranges from 10 to 30 years, or life in prison in certain cases.
Before Austin’s Law was created, authorities charged drug dealers with felony murder, involuntary manslaughter or distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in death, but proving intent or responsibility for the overdose was difficult in the courtroom, prosecutors said.
The first sentences associated with the new charge were handed down in Carroll County last month, when two defendants were given long prison stints after they sold fentanyl that led to a man’s overdose death in May 2024.
“You don’t know how strong the law is until it actually goes before a jury or goes before a judge and a sentence is actually passed,” Gus Walters recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So we were waiting patiently to find out because everybody felt like the law was strong enough to stand on its own without a big argument.”
Taking a pill
Austin Walters was described by his father as a “good Southern boy” who sold John Deere tractors and loved the outdoors. But he also suffered from anxiety and depression, his father said.
That led the 30-year-old to purchase a fentanyl-laced Xanax pill on the street in Valdosta, which ultimately caused his fatal overdose on Sept. 9, 2021, according to his father, who lives in Lowndes County.
About 70% of all drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2023 involved fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just since the law passed last year, there have been nearly 50,000 fatal overdoses from the drug.
Like with many overdose investigations, no one was charged in Austin’s death, and the case went nowhere.
So Gus decided to reach out to Goodman. The senator, who had known the Walters family for years, was determined to find a solution.
He eventually contacted Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and learned that drug dealers could essentially declare ignorance of knowing a drug was laced with fentanyl. But despite that hurdle, they pushed forward, and their efforts gained immediate traction.
In March 2024, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill, which was signed into law the following month. Goodman said it was “not typical” that a criminal justice bill would pass unanimously, which spoke to the “carnage fentanyl is causing in our communities.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to carry numerous pieces of legislation during my time in the Senate, but of all the issues and legislation I’ve worked on during my time in public service, I’m most proud of Austin’s Law,” Goodman told the AJC.
Finding the language
Sarah Japour, the district attorney for the West Georgia Judicial Circuit, and Jack Winne, the chief assistant DA for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, helped legislators draft the language for Austin’s Law.
It requires prosecutors to prove that defendants manufactured or sold a controlled substance, according to Coweta DA Herb Cranford. After that, prosecutors must prove the victim was killed by fentanyl.
Basically, authorities are trying to go after the source of the drugs and the dealers.
“The legislature’s intent was to prosecute those seeking to profit from selling a drug as deadly as fentanyl,” Cranford said, “as opposed to one user sharing with another user.”
Before the law was enacted, prosecutors often indicted people for felony murder based on the drug sale and then tried to work out a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter. That punishment ranged from one to 10 years in prison. DA’s offices also used other charges, like drug distribution, to lengthen sentences, but those can equate to earlier parole for those convicted.
“Those resolutions, including quick parole eligibility, left victims’ families, the community and our offices feeling deprived of a more full measure of justice for the wrong committed and the harm resulting from it,” Cranford added.
The start of convictions
In the recent Carroll County case, Brittany Ridley admitted to selling fentanyl to Shelby Houpe, who prosecutors said died from an overdose on May 28, 2024. Ridley told investigators she got the drug from Stacy Dobbs.
Both suspects entered guilty pleas Nov. 3, prosecutors said. Dobbs was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the aggravated involuntary manslaughter charge as well as possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl. Ridley was sentenced to 12 years on the new charge and two counts of possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute.
Elsewhere, the Gwinnett County DA’s office said it has 16 cases pending with that new charge. One involves Emory Clark, who is accused in the July 2024 overdose death of Christian Howell.
DA spokesperson Marcus Garner said the new charge will make it easier to secure convictions and impose sentences that are more appropriate in their eyes.
“Fentanyl deaths have certainly become a priority in Gwinnett County, as they have across the nation. The rise in overdose deaths due to fentanyl has prompted a stronger focus on combating this public health crisis through both law enforcement and community outreach,” Garner told the AJC in a statement. “In addition to the legal measures like Austin’s Law, our office continues to collaborate with local, state and federal agencies to target the supply chain of fentanyl, as well as educate the public about the dangers of illicit drug use.”
More than a name
Gus Walters said he was ecstatic to see Austin’s Law being made a priority by prosecutors, including those in metro Atlanta.
While that missing piece in his life will never return, there is a sense of comfort every time he looks at a picture of Austin or hears his name. Through the efforts of many, that name will be forever linked to finding justice for families torn apart by the opioid epidemic.
“There’s a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that you’re helping to save lives,” he said. “Even though we weren’t able to save our own son’s life.”
