One woman in Middle Tennessee has been trying to understand how her brother Joshua Mince died after she paid money to other inmates to get him into drug treatment. She’s convinced the extortion money meant to facilitate his recovery instead bought the so-called “hot shot” of drugs that killed him.
The U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating Tennessee’s largest prison after years of complaints by inmates, their families, staff, and activists. Those include allegations that inmate gangs essentially run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center. CoreCivic, which runs the prison, refused an interview but did respond to questions about drug treatment.