A Bowie County drug case has raised an interesting concern.

Without delving into the merits of this particular case, the concern is whether the possibility of prosecution would keep a person from calling 911 to get help for a drug user who overdoses.

Heres a simplified example: A woman and man are at the womans home. The man overdoses. The woman calls 911. Medical and police officials arrive. A subsequent search of the home turns up narcotics. The woman who might have saved the mans life with her phone call is arrested for possession.

There are those who fear such an arrest could serve to deter others engage in such activity from calling 911 in a medical emergency.

So, should a person who tries to save someones life while in the course of illegal activity be prosecuted for the illegal activity?

For better or worse, the answer is yes.

People are supposed to obey the law.

And they are supposed to get medical attention for those in need.

If you break the law you face the possibility of prosecution. But that possibility of prosecution does not absolve anyone from their responsibility to seek immediate help for someone in a medical emergency.

Doing what one is supposed to do is not a ‘get out of jail free card for other offenses.

An armed robber can shoot a store clerk in the heat of the moment, come to his senses and call 911. While that may (or may not) have an effect on the severity of punishment when sentence is eventually passed, it should not keep the perpetrator from facing charges.

Human nature being what it is, there is always the possibility that someone would rather save their own skin than get help for someone else. There is always the chance that fear of prosecution could keep a person from picking up the phone and calling 911 when help is desperately needed.

But the only reasonable way to combat such disregard for human life is the possibility of sterner punishment for failure to call 911, not a free pass to break the law.