By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
On the day that the so-called “Good Samaritan” law expired, advocates rallied at the State House demanding a restoration of the law that protected from prosecution, those on probation or parole who report an overdose in progress.
Last week, the General Assembly adjourned without renewing the 2012 law, which had a “sunset” provision. The House and Senate could not reconcile differing versions.
“The General Assembly is basically saying our lives doesn’t matter,” said John Prince, an overdose survivor and organizer of the Behind the Walls Prison Committee with the community group DARE.
“The only reason that I’m alive today is because Good Sam was enacted at the time of my overdose,” said Abbie Stenberg, who said she is in long-term recovery.
“I wasn’t even aware of it at the time, I didn’t know what Good Sam was, but thank God the people that were with me knew about that, because otherwise, they probably would have left me for dead.”
Gov. Gina Raimondo was among a handful of speakers at the noon rally in the State House rotunda.
“It’s an unacceptable situation, and I urge the General Assembly to reinstate these protections as quickly as they’re able to. And I want the people of Rhode Island to hear this: call 911, because calling 911 does save lives,” Raimondo said.
After she left, some speakers called on her to reinstate the protections of the Good Samaritan law through an executive order, an option that her staff said is under scrutiny.
