DRUG-RELATED DEATH BRINGS GUILTY PLEA

A young girl was dead. But the weapon wasn't a gun or knife. It was methamphetamine.

The second-degree murder case came to the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson on a change of venue. Before the trial's end, the defendant agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

As a result, a precedent may have been set in this case. Meth and a needle were the murder weapon that killed 19-year-old Crystal Dunlap of Poplar Bluff.

Drug users and sellers should take note.

The defendant was charged with helping the girl inject meth into her arm. In court, David Allen Burnett, 34, admitted to holding her arm while she injected it herself. He also admitted that while she appeared to be overdosing, he made a wrong decision in not getting her medical aid as quickly as he should have.

Stoddard County's prosecuting attorney, Briney Welborn, feels Missouri's felony murder law needs to be updated. Welborn would have had to prove that the drug was actually injected by someone other than the victim to prove murder. There are few witnesses in drug overdose cases.

But in other states, the delivery of a dangerous drug that leads to a death is sufficient to warrant a murder charge. It's certainly a change that legislators should consider.

Burnett will be sentenced Nov. 23 for both involuntary manslaughter and manufacturing and distributing the drug that killed Dunlap. He should spend a number of years in jail. During that time, he can both reflect on his crimes and be out of commission in supplying drugs to children.

The parents of the dead girl hope the trial sent a message. Her mother, Nancy Goodwin of Poplar Bluff, said the fight against drug use isn't working. She hopes her daughter's death could at least help another young person think twice about drugs.

Young people often feel invincible. That's one reason why drug use, alcohol abuse and traffic fatalities are so high.

The death of Crystal Dunlap provides a stark reminder that life is fragile and sometimes fleeting, especially when drugs are involved.