By: Associated Press//October 16, 2013//
WHITEHALL, Wis. (AP) — A La Crosse woman who provided the heroin that killed another man has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Twenty-seven-year-old Tasha Kempfer asked the judge Tuesday to spare her a prison term. But Judge John Damon said probation would diminish the seriousness of the crime.
Heroin has been a problem all over the state. The Winnebago County Heroin Task Force held a forum Tuesday in which community members talked about ways to stem the problem. They discussed a needle-exchange program and ways to increase access to treatment.
Prosecutors say Kempfer snorted heroin in 2011 with Jeremiah Harris. He lost consciousness, but instead of taking him to a hospital she left him outside a fire department.
Kempfer offered a tearful apology to Harris’s family and said she prays for their forgiveness.