Governor Candidates Say Prison Overdoses Need Stronger Response

Lawsuit in 2022 overdose death offers window into drug problem in state prisons

Jordan Ward isn’t one of the eight men killed by an overdose in a South Dakota prison in 2025, but a lawsuit filed this year over his 2022 death in custody offers insight into how drugs sometimes make their way into the hands of inmates. The case also points to the impact of losing a loved one inside an institution obligated to protect their well-being as they pay their societal debt. An overdose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl killed the 30-ye…