RICHMOND - A bipartisan bill that would allow Virginia prosecutors to charge drug dealers with murder in cases where users die hit a snag after Gov. Ralph Northam suggested amendments that "significantly weaken the bill," according to a press release from the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys.

The organization said steps were taken this year in the General Assembly to hold drug dealers accountable. Under current law, most dealers who sell narcotics that result in a death cannot be prosecuted for murder.

"Drug dealers bear moral responsibility for the overdose deaths they cause," the press release said. "Our laws in the Commonwealth should fully acknowledge this important truth."

Waynesboro Commonwealth's Attorney David Ledbetter said the position of prosecutors was weakened in 2013 by the Virginia Court of Appeals in the case of Woodard v. Commonwealth, where the court reversed a murder conviction in the death of a Danville woman.

"That killing, however, must be so closely related in time, place, and causal connection as to be part of the same felonious criminal enterprise. Here, because the felonious criminal enterprise, the distribution of ecstasy, had clearly ended prior to the killing, the trial court’s conclusion that the killing was part of the same criminal enterprise was plainly wrong and without evidence to support it," the court wrote in its decision.

More:Police said second victim was lying on tracks when killed, first died in Crozet

This year, legislators amended the felony murder statute with House Bill 2528, making dealers legally responsible for any overdose deaths they cause. The new bill, prior to the governor's amendments, was characterized in the press release as being "a tool for dealing with the supply side of the opioid epidemic."

But with the governor's tweaks, Ledbetter said Northam has given drug dealers an out in deadly overdose situations, such as a scenario where a dealer sells drugs to a man and his girlfriend. The dealer sticks around and watches the man give the drugs to his girlfriend, who dies. If the dealer calls 911 and stays at the scene, Ledbetter said the dealer cannot be charged in the death.

"He can't be prosecuted at all for the homicide," he said. "The dealer could still be charged for the distribution. The boyfriend could get charged with felony murder."

More:Revolving Door: How inmates end up back in jail

The organization is calling on the General Assembly to reject the governor's amendments during a Wednesday veto session in Richmond.

Mike Doucette, executive director of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys and a former Lynchburg prosecutor for 35 years, said the governor's actions were not expected.

"We never envisioned this in a million years," he said.

Doucette said while many Democrats were onboard for the bill, he said there are concerns from those opposing the bill that it could be used as a tool to imprison young black men.

"We're not interested in the racial component," he said.

Asked if he'd been given a reason for the governor amending the bill, Doucette said, "We have heard absolutely nothing from the governor's office."

Subscribe!: Interested in crime and court cases that impact your community? Click here to subscribe to The News Leader.

Have questions or a tip? Email Brad Zinn at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.