A Tennessee woman was sentenced to 20 years in Greeneville after pleading guilty in a fentanyl-laced cocaine case tied to three overdose deaths and two near-fatal overdoses. This comes as the state works to curb its dr*g problem. Tennessee’s overdose rate remains far above the national average, despite recent gains across the U.S.
According to a May 13 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Ashlyn Jade Henry, 25, of Morristown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and c*caine. Federal prosecutors stated that Henry bought the c*caine base from her supplier in the Knoxville area in January 2024. She later sold the dr*gs in Morristown, leading to three overdose-related deaths and two near-fatal overdoses.
Court records reveal that the c*caine had been laced with fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that has driven overdose deaths across the country in recent years. The two people, who survived after being revived, identified Henry as the person who sold them the fentanyl-laced c*caine. In addition to the 20-year sentence, Henry will serve five years of supervised release after completing her prison term.
Three agencies investigated the overdoses for months: the Morristown Police Department, the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Henry was arrested in October 2024. She pleaded guilty earlier this year after originally facing the possibility of life in prison.
The case is a stark reminder of Tennessee’s stubbornly high overdose numbers, even when the rest of the United States is getting relatively better. Nationwide overdose deaths began falling sharply in 2024. But Tennessee’s health officials say overdose deaths are still far above pre-pandemic levels.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health’s 2025 State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System report, the state recorded 3,648 overdose deaths in 2023.
While that gives temporary relief, health officials noted in the report that overdose deaths at that point remained 82 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. The report covered data only through 2023. This essentially means more recent statewide totals for 2024 and 2025 are still unknown.
Provisional national data showed overdose deaths dropped by nearly 20 percent in 2024. However, Tennessee’s overdose death rate remained around 56 deaths per 100,000 residents — roughly 37.6 percent higher than the national average. As such, fentanyl has continued to play a major role in overdose deaths across Tennessee.
The report also found fentanyl was detected in 76 percent of overdose deaths tracked in the state between 2019 and 2023, making it the most commonly found substance in toxicology reports. East Tennessee, where Morristown is located, also saw overdose deaths rise steadily over several years, according to the state report.
Henry’s prosecution was part of a federal effort targeting drug trafficking organizations called “Operation Take Back America.”
The DOJ release also stated that President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December 2025 labeling fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” The order reflected the growing federal focus on the deadly opioid, which has caused more deaths than ever.
