Woman charged with murder of inmate via deadly kiss
‘This incident points to the real dangers of introducing contraband into prisons and the consequences that follow,’ authorities say
A Tennessee woman has been charged with the murder of an inmate who overdosed after she passed meth to him via a kiss during a jail visit.
Rachel Dollard, 33, was detained at the weekend by law enforcement officials from the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) and the Dickson County Sheriff’s Department, according to The Daily Beast.
Ms Dollard stands accused of smuggling the drugs into the Turney Center Industrial Complex and has been charged with second-degree murder and introduction of contraband into a penal facility. She’s being held at the Hickman County jail, according to TDOC.
The charges were filed following the death of Joshua Brown. He was in prison on an 11-year sentence for drug violations and his time behind bars was set to end in 2029.
The authorities claim that Ms Dollard passed the drugs to Brown in February “as the two exchanged a kiss during visitation at the Turney Center Industrial Complex”.
Ms Dollard is alleged to have had half an ounce of methamphetamine in her mouth.
Brown died at an area hospital after swallowing the balloon pellet that held the meth, according to The Daily Beast.
The director of the Office of Investigations and Conduct at TDOC, David Imhof, said that “this incident points to the real dangers of introducing contraband into prisons and the consequences that follow”.
“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,” he added.
The agency said that it employs “a variety of tools to try to prevent the introduction of contraband into Tennessee prisons including pat searches of anyone entering a facility, vehicle and cell searches, and drug detection dogs”.