Governor Approves Law Letting Drug Addicts’ Relatives Sue Dealers

Legislation to allow relatives or employers of drug abusers to sue drug dealers for damages - a measure inspired by the suicide of Carol O’Connor’s son - was signed Friday by Gov. Zell Miller.

The measure, which takes effect July 1, allows a parent, spouse, child or employer of a drug abuser to sue for damages from a drug dealer who peddled illegal drugs in the area where the abuser obtained or used drugs. The drug abuser cannot personally sue under the law.

The law was sparked in part by the suicide of Hugh O’Connor, whose actor father was a sometime Georgia resident during the filming of his television series “In the Heat of the Night.”

After Hugh O’Connor shot himself to death in California in 1995, his father blamed the man convicted of selling drugs to him.