A California prison is being placed under a microscope following a possible death by mail. The incident in question involves fentanyl-laced pages that may have killed a mailroom supervisor.
At the high-security US Penitentiary in Atwater, an inmate named Jamar Jones was allegedly sent mail from his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Ferreira and a man called Jersey Rudd III. Prosecutors say that multiple pages of the letter were “soaked” in drugs—including amphetamines, fentanyl, and “spice,” or synthetic cannabinoids, according to drug testing. They say the paper looked like it was dipped in wax.
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The senders attempted to conceal the alleged drug shipment by sending it via “legal mail,” meant to be confidentially between an attorney and inmate. All three have been charged for conspiracy to distribute.
According to an FBI affidavit, the mailroom supervisor, Marc Fischer, came in contact with the envelope and handled its pages. Within five minutes, he began stumbling around and told coworkers he was “having trouble breathing.” Fellow corrections officers called for medical support, and after two hours and a trip to the hospital, Fischer died.
The cause of death is still unknown and won’t be identified until toxicology reports are finalized. Secondhand fentanyl exposure shouldn’t be fatal, experts say.
This is hardly the first case of drug-soaked mail in prisons. In 2019, 122 federal prisons began photocopying inmate letters instead of giving them the originals in an attempt to stop the distribution of any drug concealed in mail or postage. A bill to mandate digital mail-scanning in prisons passed the Senate last year, but it stalled in the House.
