Coty Wamp
District Attorney Coty Wamp said she hopes a woman's second-degree murder conviction for a drug sale that resulted in an overdose death will be a warning to others considering selling drugs in Hamilton County.
She said, "My hope is that this conviction is a wake-up call for drug dealers all across our county. We will continue to prosecute under this statute and we will continue to focus our efforts on sending dangerous drug dealers to prison."
DA Wamp added, “To my knowledge, this is the first trial of its kind in Hamilton County. When considering an overdose death, the community may not typically think of a second-degree murder charge. However, the legislative intent was very clear with this statute. In Tennessee, if you sell or deliver illegal drugs to a person and that person dies as a result of those drugs, you can be found guilty of murder.”
On Wednesday afternoon, jurors from Hamilton County found Morgan Copeland guilty of second-degree murder for the death of Nicholas Jackson.
DA Wamp said, "Ms. Copeland sold fentanyl to Mr. Jackson under the guise of a different controlled substance, and the extremely deadly drug immediately killed the victim.
"Prosecutors Chris Post and Jason Demastus delivered closing arguments to a jury of 12 on Wednesday afternoon, and in less than one hour, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged.
"In 2018, the Tennessee Legislature enacted legislation that directly targets drug dealers selling fentanyl. The legislation enacted under TCA 39-13-210(a)(3) calls for a conviction of second-degree murder when a defendant is found guilty of selling fentanyl that results in death.
"Second-degree murder is a Class A felony, which carries 15 to 60 years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections."
Ms. Copeland will face sentencing on May 2 at 1:30 p.m. in the courtroom of Judge Amanda Dunn.