DOJ investigating two South Carolina jails after several inmate deaths

The Department of Justice announced it is investigating two jails in South Carolina after several inmates have died at the facilities in the past year.

The inquiry will look at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia, South Carolina. Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, announced the two separate investigations on Thursday, saying that those sent to jail “do not abandon their civil and constitutional rights at the jailhouse door.” In remarks made about the investigations, Clarke said 14 people had died at the two jails since 2022.

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“Our investigation of the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center will focus on access to medical and mental healthcare, the use of restrictive housing or solitary confinement, and the use of force by staff. We will also examine whether the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center discriminates against incarcerated people with psychiatric disabilities,” Clarke said.

“The investigation into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center will examine whether the jail fails to protect incarcerated people from violence and subjects incarcerated people to dangerous living conditions at the jail,” she added.

Clarke detailed the findings made against the two facilities that led them to open the investigation, including an instance where an inmate was killed by another inmate at the Columbia facility after “the detention center did not secure cell doors.” In addition to the deaths, the Columbia jail has seen “at least two escapes, one riot, 16 confirmed reports of stabbings or assaults, and two alleged rapes,” according to Clarke.

For the Charleston facility, Clarke detailed how in January 2021, an inmate was allegedly killed “after Detention Center staff tased and pepper sprayed him multiple times when he refused to leave his cell for a bond hearing. Staff dragged him to a restraint chair and placed him in a spit hood until he became unresponsive.”

Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano defended the work of her employees after the Justice Department announced its investigation, saying she welcomes the announcement in a statement on Thursday.

“I stand behind the work of my employees. They are the hardest-working people in this county. The work that they do keeps us all safe. I will be the first person to welcome any member of the Department of Justice to my facility, and I believe that we are going above and beyond our call of duty to provide assistance on mental health concerns,” Graziano said. “I also invite the elected officials of South Carolina to do their job and do their part to stop the dumping of the mentally ill in jails.”

“I welcome the announcement of the DOJ investigation. Any member of the public — including those same elected officials who called for the investigation — is always welcome to ask questions and to come see the great work we are doing at the Charleston County Detention Center,” she added.

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The two South Carolina jails are not the only ones in the South being investigated by the Justice Department. The Fulton County Jail in Georgia is also being investigated for its “living conditions, medical and mental healthcare, use of excessive force, and protection from violence.”

The Fulton County Jail was where former President Donald Trump was booked after he was indicted on racketeering charges in the state in August.