United States v. Walker, No. 10-2173 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseFive died after using heroin distributed by a narcotics trafficking organization; five defendants pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846. Because of the deaths, the prosecution requested a mandatory minimum of 20 years’ imprisonment, 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A). The district court believed that it was required to impose the same penalty on each defendant under a theory of strict liability. The Seventh Circuit affirmed three of the sentences and vacated two. A trial court must make specific factual findings to determine whether the relevant conduct of each defendant encompassed the distribution chain that caused a victim’s death before applying the 20-year penalty. Three defendants were found to be in the distribution chain that led to the deaths; the record supported those findings.
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