Fatality brings eyes on smuggling drugs in prisons

Tenn. corrections officers, facility employees linked to the problem

NASHVILLE – Rachal Dollard visited Joshua Brown in February at the Turney Center Industrial Complex.

At some point during her stay, Dollard flouted the prison’s visitation policy – no kissing – and touched lips with Brown, who was serving an 11-year sentence on drug charges.

Within days, Brown died.

Authorities believe Dollard passed to Brown a balloon pellet containing half an ounce of methamphetamine. Six months later, Dollard was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, marking the latest example of a troubling number of drug overdoses in Tennessee’s state prisons.

Twenty-three overdoses were reported this year at the state’s 14 prison facilities – through Aug. 17 – according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Dollard, meanwhile, was the 46th person arrested this year for allegedly introducing contraband in state prisons — including drugs, tobacco, cellphones, chargers, lighters, USB flash drives and other prohibited items. Seven of the arrests occurred at the Turney Center in Hickman County.

Even more troubling: Eleven arrests this year were linked to corrections officers or facility employees, a reality that concerns Wanda Bertram of the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-profit criminal justice policy think tank.

Bertram said America’s corrections departments aren’t doing enough to mitigate the crisis, which is exacerbated by corrections officers who introduce contraband into prisons. She also criticized a lack of substance abuse treatment available for inmates.

“The vast majority of DOC initiatives to stop contraband are policies like visitation restrictions, book

package bans, and restrictions on mail, which target friends and family and arguably do more harm than good,” Bertram said.

“Until departments of corrections are willing to acknowledge that staff are the problem, they will get nowhere.”

Drugs in U.S. prisons are a growing concern for families of inmates and experts alike. From 2001 to 2018, the number of incarcerated people who died of drug or alcohol intoxication in America’s state prisons increased by more than 600%, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

An estimated 65% of the U.S. prison population suffers from substance use disorders, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In Hickman County, Dollard was due to appear in court Tuesday.

“This incident points to the real dangers of introducing contraband into prisons and the consequences that follow,” said David Imhof, the director of investigations at the Tennessee Department of Correction.

“Our agency will pursue prosecution against any individual who threatens the safety and security of our staff, the men and women in our custody and our facilities.”

How officials are opposing drugs in Tennessee state prisons

Confirmed drug toxicity deaths in Tennessee state prisons have increased in recent years.

In 2020, there were 20 overdose deaths in state facilities. The number spiked to 53 in 2021. With slightly more than three months left in 2022, there have been 23 confirmed deaths.

Four of the state’s prisons are operated by Corecivic, a Brentwood-based, for-profit prison company.

In response to growing contraband arrests, Dorinda Carter, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction, said the agency began installing body scanners in state facilities last year.

The scanners, which help prison staff identify contraband smuggled inside or on a person’s body, were originally slated to be installed in every state facility by the end of the year.

Carter said shipping and supply issues have led to delays.

It is unclear whether body scanners would have impacted the case involving Dollard and Brown. Carter declined to comment further on the details of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

Still, Carter added there are additional safety measures in place to prevent the introduction of contraband. Each facility conducts pat-down searches of visitors. Cell and vehicle searches are also utilized, as well as K-9 officers trained to detect illegal chemical substances.

Visitors are allowed brief hugs at the beginning and end of visits, and all inand teraction during visitation is monitored by staff, Carter said.

Advocate of people in prison: Offer assistance for substance abuse

Bertram condemned prison systems that fail to treat incarcerated people with substance use disorders – from methamphetamine and marijuana to heroin and alcohol made in cells with fruit.

“Departments of corrections have been loath to offer medication-assisted treatment, widely considered the ‘gold standard’ of care,” Bertram said.

“We know what works to prevent people from overdosing and to help people overcome addiction, but when prisons are offering virtually no treatment for substance use disorders, the onus is on them to explain why they aren’t working harder.”

Molly Davis, mdavis2@gannett.com