DonTavis Mintz
DonTavis Mintz, 24, loved basketball and football and was close to his brothers and sisters, his mother, Nerissa Wright, said. He had been in contact with the Human and Civil Rights Coalition of Georgia about conditions at Ware State Prison in Waycross, where he was held and where he died in August 2021. His mother said guards told her he was fine, that she learned of his death about two weeks later, and that he had been dead for days before anyone noticed. Medical examiners reported that he died from the toxic effects of meth, while the Georgia Department of Corrections lists the cause as undetermined, said it was making rounds and reviewing details under investigation, and has declined to release its death investigation reports.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled he died from the toxic effects of meth, as reported by the AJC, and his mother, Nerissa Wright, says he had been dead for days before anyone noticed.
Reported by: Georgia Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); medical examiners; Atlanta Journal-Constitution (reporters).