America’s dehumanization of substance abusers

George Floyd’s history with substance abuse has been used to vilify him in the eyes of the jury — a heinous ploy by Derek Chauvin’s defense lawyer that speaks volumes on how the U.S. justice system continues to devalue the lives of drug users

Brittany Lang / Feature Editor / The USD Vista

The murder of George Floyd last May sparked a ferocious resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement across the world. The blatant and nonchalant manner in which Floyd’s life was taken from him caused the eyes of the world to turn to the U.S. and revealed the loathsome failings of our law enforcement and justice system. 

Over the course of the past week, people around the country have been anxiously watching the Derek Chauvin trial unfold. On the afternoon of April 20, Chauvin was officially convicted with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter, for the abhorrent use of the knee-to-neck restraint on Floyd that lasted more than nine minutes and inhibited his ability to breathe.

Barry Vance Brodd, defense witness and former police officer, took to the stand on April 13 in an attempt to defend the violent and inhumane use of force that resulted in the death of Floyd.

“Chauvin’s interactions with Mr. Floyd were following his training, following current practices in policing and were objectively reasonable,” Brodd said.

However, what was most reprehensible from the trial was when Chauvin’s defense lawyer, Eric Nelson, chose to capitalize on the stigma American society has toward substance abusers. The trial began on the morning of April 13 with a testimony by Nelson that appeared to be an attempt to suggest that a drug overdose was the true cause of death.

Floyd’s autopsy report showed that he had fentanyl in his system at his time of death. However, asphyxiation happens over the course of minutes whereas drug overdoses happen quickly and silently, usually taking only seconds. Therefore, the time of death does not match up to that of an overdose.

Nelson brought attention to the drugs in his defense testimony to not only sway the jury away from believing Chauvin was fully responsible for Floyd’s death, but to also push the implicit message of what many people in America believe — that substance abusers deserve whatever demise they are met with and are not worthy of justice due to the choices they  made.

It is unsurprising that Floyd’s history with substance abuse has been used to vilify him in the media and in the trial of Chauvin. The stigma that exists toward people who suffer from addiction in our society has long existed. It is continuously deemed as a simply selfish and degenerate personal choice, where little regard is given to the socioeconomic and health factors that perpetuate substance abuse, and in particular, those that plague the Black community.

It needs to be addressed that Floyd’s use of fentanyl was not a moral failing. Like an estimated two million Americans, he was a victim of the opioid epidemic generated by America’s healthcare system. Floyd’s girlfriend, Courteney Ross, testified that they both struggled with opioid addiction. They first started taking prescribed opioids but when they ran out, they were forced to turn to cheaper and readily available alternatives. These pills are often counterfeit opioids that are laced with fentanyl. 

The opioid crisis has continuously disproportionately affected people of color and low-income communities. Instead of receiving professional help from addiction healthcare professionals, they are incarcerated for the possession and distribution of these substances. 

While in prison, only one in 20 people receive opioid treatment and once released, their risk of death is 13 times higher than the rest of the general population. 

Additionally, the quality of the treatment the American healthcare system offers is severely poor, especially in low-income communities. 

In 2018, a nationwide survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that 55% of Americans supported a crackdown on substances abusers. 

Data from a 12-month period ending last August also showed that fatal drug overdoses climbed by 25%. Therefore, the healthcare system created a crisis it cannot yet solve and provided inadequate resources to help the victims, all the while stigmatizing them within society — the system failed them, not the other way around. 

It should go without saying that no innocent person should suffer the same cruel fate as Floyd, but even if one is guilty of committing a crime or has a dark past, they do not deserve to be murdered either. This is shockingly a topic that some think is up for debate, as if that crime, any unrelated wrongdoing, or personal choice made in the past is a sound reason for a person to be killed at the hands of law enforcement.

Floyd was robbed of a future filled with second chances, new beginnings, and moments of joy with his loved ones. No one individual should have the authority over another in deciding whether they get to live or die. 

Members of the Black community and other marginalized groups face the possibility of death every time they have an encounter with the law enforcement. 

Black Americans have long been aware of the prevalence and severity of police brutality in the U.S., but it has only been recently that the whole world has started to see the stain it has on our country and the ways in which institutionalized racism has inhibited true systemic change.

Let us learn from the events that have transpired over this past week. No one life should be seen as of lesser worth than another — a person’s worth is not dependent on their race, gender, income, profession, or their contribution to society. 

With the exception of those who commit truly abominable crimes against innocent individuals, every person is worthy of compassion and should be able to define for themselves the trajectory of their own future. Floyd was robbed of that chance. 

As students of USD, it is crucial that we understand the failings of our healthcare system which does not properly provide adequate support and professional help to those suffering from addiction.

It is essential that we realize how the opioid epidemic has targeted Black and other marginalized communities and, like Floyd, these individuals deserve to be treated with dignity and not ostracized from society or have their suffering manipulated as evidence used to claim that they are undeserving of justice.

The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.