April 29, 2025
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas (for himself, Mr. Crenshaw, and Mr. Gimenez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To punish the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death as felony murder.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Fentanyl distribution resulting in death punished as felony murder
Section 1111 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), by inserting , distributing fentanyl
after child abuse
;
(2)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
by striking (b) Within
and inserting (b)(1) Within
; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
(2)
Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree by distributing fentanyl shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life.; and
(3)
in subsection (c)—
(A)
by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6) as paragraphs (6) through (8), respectively; and
(B)
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
(4)
the terms controlled substance, distribute, and distributor have the meanings given the terms in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802);
(5)
distributing fentanyl means to distribute a controlled substance—
(A)
involving 2 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide or .5 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of any analogue of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide;
(B)
that results in death from the use of such mixture or substance; and
(C)
knowing or having reason to know contains a detectable amount of such mixture or substance.