Republicans Host Parents of Fentanyl Victims: Our Children Didn’t Overdose; ‘They Were Poisoned’
Parents whose children died after unknowingly ingesting fentanyl joined House Republicans at a roundtable Thursday to tell their stories and implore Congress to act on the growing epidemic.
The parents’ resounding message at the roundtable, led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) and the Republican Study Committee, was that their children had been “poisoned” and that their deaths were not overdoses.
Faced with an uncontrollable number of drug overdose deaths, North Carolina leaders passed a bi-partisan law meant to hold drug dealers accountable, but a WCNC Charlotte investigation found police rarely arrested suspects for the newly created charge of death by distribution in the first two years of its existence.
The felony, when charged as “aggravated,” holds a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, but court records reveal few drug dealers across the state actually face the crime.
Izzy D’Alo is still waiting for justice a year after her father’s fatal overdose. James D’Alo died on Jan. 18, 2021, in Stallings, North Carolina — a southeastern suburb of Charlotte. The medical examiner ruled the 50-year-old’s death accidental and suspected fentanyl as the source.
“I had a feeling my dad was just going to be viewed as another drug addict and he wasn’t,” his daughter said. “Since he died, I’ve learned a lot about him and his struggles and what drove him to that path and it’s really sad.”
On August 17, 2022 Debbie Dalton spoke to WSOC in Charlotte about her son Dalton and her efforts to raise awareness through the Hunter Dalton Life Foundation.
