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Fallout from the Tragic Death of Michael K. Williams

Neal Hemphill
2 min readAug 27, 2023

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Don’t Sell Fentanyl

Photo by David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons https://tinyurl.com/bwv9449v

Irvin Cartagena has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling heroin that was laced with fentanyl to Michael K. Williams, who died after using it.

Michael K. Williams rose to fame for his portrayal of a stickup man named Omar Little on the HBO series “The Wire.”

Cartagena sold heroin along with three other men who received much lesser sentences because Cartagena is the one who did the actual deal with Williams.

It could have been any of them. But it was him.

Cartagena has had a brutal life, and he’s been a heroin addict for many years. He was being paid in heroin by the higher-ups in the ring. They also gave him a bit of cash.

So, he was feeding his addiction. And his story is truly heartbreaking.

But, here’s the part where any sort of sympathy for him falls away.

They knew the heroin had fentanyl in it. And they continued to sell it after hearing that Michael K. Williams had died.

Addiction is heartless.

Once it takes charge, it is seriously in charge.

Things that once may have been unthinkable become routine. Morals get tossed aside. Conscience disappears.

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Neal Hemphill
Neal Hemphill

Written by Neal Hemphill

Writes about Sobriety/Recovery from Lived Experience of 35+ years. Filmmaker telling stories about the struggles of addiction/recovery @ straightaheadfilms.com

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