Within hours of the first swig, botulinum toxin infiltrated the prisoners’ nerve cells, causing weakness and paralysis. Investigators traced botulism spores to the humble spud. After days of fermentation and anticipation, the brewer filtered the mash through a sock, and then doled out the hooch to his fellow yardbirds. For the pièce de résistance, he added a baked potato filched from a meal tray weeks earlier and peeled with his fingernails. In secret, a prison moonshiner mixed grapefruit, oranges, powdered drink mix, canned fruit, and water in a plastic bag. Tests confirmed that the detainees came down with botulism from their cellblock science experiment. Their buzz faded into double vision, weakness, trouble swallowing, and vomiting. After tanking up on “pruno,” a bootleg prison wine, eight maximum-security inmates at the Utah State prison in Salt Lake County tried to shake off more than just the average hangover.
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