Charges against Woman in Drug Death Are Dismissed

By Brian Cole

Published on March 26, 2007

Johnson, of Evansville, Indiana, remained in jail while her lawyer fought to show that Tennessee did not have jurisdiction over the case because his client did not enter the state. The long-fought legal battle ended after Johnson spent more than a year behind bars.

A grand jury indicted Johnson on one count of second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Justin Lee Payne, who overdosed on a combination of alcohol and the painkiller fentanyl.

The Assistant District Attorney, Dan Brollier, said the charges were brought against Johnson because she sold Payne the drugs on which he overdosed in a Tennessee motel. Both Johnson and Payne are from Evansville, Indiana.

Brollier acknowledged that the prosecution believed the drug deal took place in Indiana and not Tennessee. He added that Indiana does not have a statute that Johnson could be prosecuted under.

Tennessee is one of only three states that hold drug dealers responsible for overdose deaths by charging them with murder.

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