Does California law protect citizens from contaminated consumables?
Yes. California Penal Code Section 347 makes it a crime to poison food, drink, medicine, or water supply that is knowingly going to be consumed by human beings. This action is considered a felony with a punishment of up to 5 years in prison, or longer depending on the severity of injuries caused. However, there are exceptions found within the law to relieve liability from food contamination.
What Constitutes the Crime of Poisoning in California?
Two elements make up the crime of poisoning in California. A person must willfully mix poison or a harmful substance into a substance with the knowledge it would be consumed by another person.
California Penal Code Section 347(a) states:
“(a) (1) Every person who willfully mingles any poison or harmful substance with any food, drink, medicine, or pharmaceutical product or who willfully places any poison or harmful substance in any spring, well, reservoir, or public water supply, where the person knows or should have known that the same would be taken by any human being to his or her injury, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or five years.”
This law applies to both large-scale public goods such as Halloween candy consumed by millions of Americans every Halloween. Contrary to popular belief, poisoned Halloween candy incidents have been largely exaggerated. However, they have occurred.
History of Contaminated Halloween Candy
In 1964, a woman by the name of Helen Pfeil was arrested for handing out poisoned dog biscuits to kids on Halloween. Fortunately, no children died as a result. When Pfeil was asked why she did it she simply replied that she wanted to play a joke on kids she considered too old to be trick-or-treating.
The most infamous Halloween poisoning took place on the spooky holiday in 1974 when a Texas man named Ronald O’Bryan gave five children cyanide-laced pixie sticks, including his own son. In fact, his son was the only one out of the five children to eat the contaminated candy, which resulted in his death soon after. This crime, however, was not intended to poison the masses, but to take the life of a specific person. Investigators later discovered O’Bryan had recently taken a life insurance policy out on his children and was attempting to collect on it by poisoning his own child. The father was convicted of murder and executed via lethal injection a decade later. Though no crime this horrific has occurred since, it has left a dark mark in the minds of parents who allow their children to accept candy from strangers on Halloween.
The paranoia of contaminated Halloween candy grew in the early 1980s when there were numerous occurrences of Tylenol poisonings in which cyanide-laced acetaminophen was distributed to stores. It was this very crime that led to the invention of childproof containers and tough federal laws to punish those who tampered with large-scale public goods. This horrific act carried over to concerned parents who believed the same would be done to Halloween candy. And thus, the legend of contaminated Halloween candy has continued to spread from generation to generation.
Are There Defenses to Penal Code 347?
If a person is accused of poisoning or contaminating food, there are legal defenses they can take to reduce or dismiss these charges. Three common defenses for Penal Code 347 include:
- No Willful Act: the poisoning must be done willfully or with a specific purpose. This is because a poisoning can be done by accident, depending on the details of the action. An example of this would be a mother who makes cookies with nuts in them and gives them to her sons friends. If she was unaware of the child’s life-threatening allergy, then she would not be charged with a violation of Penal Code 347.
- No Knowledge: a defendant MUST poison something and knowingly do so. They must also be aware that another person will be consuming the poisoned substance.
- No Malice: This accusation cannot be made out of malice. Accusing someone of poisoning is a serious charge and cannot be used to hurt, injure, or harm an innocent person.
Find Support for Contaminated Substance Victims
If you or a loved one has been fed a contaminated substance, you may be able to claim damages from the liable party. The personal injury attorneys at Maison Law take Penal Code violations very seriously. Our firm has years of experience aggressively pursuing compensation for innocent victims and ensuring the liable party is responsible for the full extent of their damages. These damages include:
- Present and future medical expenses
- Loss of income, as well as the reduction in your earning capacity you’ve suffered from your injuries
- Cost of living with your injury
- Damage done to your property during the accident (if applicable)
The next thing would be to include your non-economic damages. These cannot be defined with a dollar amount because they include:
- Pain and suffering caused by your injuries
- Stress and anxiety due to the severity of the incident
- Your mental state after enduring a life-changing event
At Maison Law, we offer all victims and their family members a free, no-risk consultation. No upfront money is required for our legal services and we only get paid if we win your case. Contact Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
