Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act of 2025

This bill, titled the "Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act of 2025" , seeks to significantly increase penalties for individuals involved in fentanyl distribution that leads to a fatality. It proposes to amend Section 1111 of title 18, United States Code , which governs federal murder statutes. Specifically, the legislation would add "distributing fentanyl" to the list of predicate offenses that can be prosecuted as felony murder. This means that if a person distributes fentanyl and that distribution results in someone's death, the distributor could be charged with first-degree murder . The bill defines "distributing fentanyl" as providing a controlled substance containing specific amounts of fentanyl or its analogues, where its use causes death, and the distributor knew or had reason to know of the fentanyl's presence. Conviction for such an offense would carry a punishment of either death or life imprisonment .