DRUG DEATH Dealer's murder charges voided

Prosecutors failed to prove malice, the court said.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that murder charges should not apply to a man for selling the drug Ecstasy to a 15-year-old girl who died of an overdose.
The 4-3 ruling upheld an Allegheny County judge's decision to dismiss third-degree murder charges against Gregory D. Ludwig.
Ludwig sold three $20 tablets to three girls who took them at the X-Fest, an all-day rock concert in Burgettstown, in May 2001. One of the girls, Brandy French, died of irreversible brain damage the next day as a result of a drug overdose, the coroner ruled.
"Because one sells illegal drugs to another, rather than shares them with others free of charge, does not in and of itself establish malice," wrote Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy in an opinion joined by two others.
No malicious intent
The court said prosecutors failed to prove malice, defined as "wickedness, hardness, cruelty, recklessness and disregard of social duty."
The three-judge dissent said Ludwig was undoubtedly aware that the drug was illegal and could be fatal and should still face the third-degree murder charge.
A third opinion, by Justice Sandra Schultz Newman, agreed that malice was not established in Ludwig's case but said a drug dealer's profit motive should be "an important factor" in determining whether malice exists.
Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning had also ruled that the 1998 statute that criminalized drug delivery resulting in death was unconstitutional, but the high court reversed him and said the law meets constitutional muster.
Not home free
Ludwig, 23, still faces charges of drug delivery, possession and possession with intent to deliver. Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Michael W. Streily said Thursday that prosecutors will continue to pursue those charges.
"We didn't charge manslaughter and the statute of limitations may have already run on that," Streily said.
Ludwig's defense attorney, Patrick J. Thomassey, was out of the country and not immediately available for comment, his office said Thursday.
Brandy, a sophomore at Ambridge Area High School, weighed less than 100 pounds and had not taken Ecstasy before the night of the concert. After she took the drug, she suffered a headache, vomited repeatedly and had difficulty breathing.
No prosecution
Brandy's father, Donald, sued four of her friends and a friend's mother, alleging they failed to seek medical care for her after she became unresponsive. That lawsuit was later resolved without going to trial, said his lawyer, John P. Gismondi.
Donald French had hoped the Supreme Court would uphold the murder charges, Gismondi said Thursday.
"I know Mr. French is disappointed that somebody would be able to sell drugs to a minor, and the minor dies as a result of the drugs, and there be no prosecution for her death," Gismondi said.