harlan county is one of the poorest counties in the country.revolves around church and family and the mines. men, hundreds of them, have been dying in the mines here for generations. fewer have died in recent years, but mining still has the highest fatality rate of any job in the state. >> it's always been dangerous, and, um... people die. >> kent hendrickson is a lawyer who represents mine owners in harlan county. he agreed to talk to us, but, because of potential lawsuits, he declined to speak about specific accidents. >> now, when i was a kid growing up here, it was so commonplace, it was almost accepted. you wouldn't know a miner died unless you read his obituary, and, you know-- and it was almost a natural death. there wasn't-- a guy died of a heart attack, or he died in the mines. >> how would you explain to people who live far from harlan county why so many people have been killed around here in the last year? >> as far as i know at this point, it's a fluke. >> so you think it's just be a string of bad luck? >> i think so. >> that explan

. >> i'm from harlan county, kentucky.m old guys down there, it's still like down there. 190 proof, you're on fire. >> last time i was there it was like $10 a jar. i don't drink no more, because all my money goes to pills now. so i don't drink or smoke pot. all my money goes to the pill. >> prescription pills create problems inside the jail, as well. >> several nights ago we had inmate workers observed on camera passing what appeared to pills. the officers reacted and recovered 21 pills identified as valium. so those inmates were sent to the health department and we have the results of the urinalysis. >> one of the inmates who tested positive was destiny van winkle. but she says pills are not her drug of choice. >> i've been smoking crack since i was 12. i was good until i was 12. i started running away when i was 12. i met a 19-year-old man when i was 12. i started dating him. had a kid with him. >> soon after, vanwinkle's drug use resulted in a long stream of arrests, convictions and numerous stays at louisville metro an