Montgomery County Woman Whose Conviction Was Overturned Will Be Resentenced Thursday

PHILADELPHIA — A Montgomery County woman who had been convicted in connection with a drug related death in Philadelphia back in 2019, but whose conviction was later overturned, is now scheduled to be sentenced to federal prison after she pleaded guilty to lesser offenses in the case.

Emma Semler, of Collegeville, is scheduled to be resentenced at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday before Judge Gene E.K. Pratter.

Patch previously reported on Semler's case back in late 2018 after the woman, who was then 23 years old, was convicted on various criminal charges in connection with the death of Jenny Werstler, 20, back in 2014.

Semler had originally been sentenced to 21 years in prison for distributing the heroin that led to the death of her friend, Werstler, whom she had met in rehab, but last June the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned Semler's conviction after ruling that the "drug delivery resulting in death" statute didn't apply in cases where the victim and accused obtain and use small amounts of drugs with one another.

That law had traditionally been used to prosecute major drug traffickers, and it came with a hefty punishment — a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Semler ended up being issued a new trial, but she subsequently pleaded guilty prior to appearing before a jury to a lesser charge that has a sentencing guideline range of between seven and 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Semler's case made national headlines after the Third Circuit's decision to overturn her conviction.

The Philadelphia Inquirer previously reported that when the appeal was before the Third Circuit, Judge David L. Porter dissented from the majority, saying that the majority ruling "blows a hole" in a carefully crafted statute that he felt should be upheld.

The newspaper reported that the majority opinion was not likely to necessarily affect other similar cases, since it was done in the form of a non-precedential decision, meaning it wouldn't be binding on other prosecutions that involve similar facts and circumstances.

Werstler, who was from East Goshen Township in Chester County, died after a drug overdose in 2014 on what was her 20th birthday inside a fast-food restaurant in West Philadelphia's Overbrook section.

At the time, both she and Semler used intravenous heroin together, according to federal prosecutors.

In December 2018, Semler was convicted in federal court in Philadelphia of one count of distribution, and aiding and abetting the distribution, of heroin resulting in death within 1,000 feet of a playground.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that the two women met each other at a drug rehabilitation facility in November 2013.

Prosecutors said that Semler did nothing to help the victim when she realized the other woman was overdosing on heroin, and that she callously left the victim on the restaurant bathroom floor "fighting for her life."

"This defendant acted with complete disregard for another human life, the life of a supposed friend," U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said at the time of the original sentencing.

In a sentencing memorandum filed with the federal court on March 3, prosecutors said they are pushing for the full 10 years behind bars.

"In this case, there are no words that can truly capture the magnitude of the tragedy," states the memorandum, which was written by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Everett Witherell and Kelly Harrell. "A series of devastating choices made by the defendant led to the death of Jennifer Werstler, who shared the defendant's challenges with drug addiction. One life was lost and another was permanently scarred by this unimaginable tragedy."

The prosecutors said the 120 months behind bars is warranted for Semler because it serves as an "appropriate and just resolution to this case that reflects the seriousness of the defendant's conduct, provides finality, takes into account ... individual circumstances of this defendant and this case, and is the sentence that is sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of sentencing."