Staff reports | In a story that is making national headlines, the U.S. Justice Department says it is investigating jails in Richland County and Charleston County after several deaths that are believed to have resulted from use of force, medical neglect and assaults by inmates.
“Based on an extensive review of information that is publicly available or that we have received from stakeholders, we find significant justification to open these investigations now,” said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.
The investigations are an answer to calls of local advocates and politicians who have increasingly decried the conditions at both facilities and requested a federal investigation, which can identify systematic issues and impose broad reforms.
The department’s civil rights division cites eight recent deaths at the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston and six at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia.
The investigation of the Al Cannon Detention Center will focus on access to medical and mental health care, the use of solitary confinement and the use of force by staff, while the investigation into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center will examine whether the jail failed to protect incarcerated people from violence and subjects incarcerated people to dangerous living conditions at the jail.
In a statement, Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano reminded that her office encouraged an investigation in March.
“I stand behind the work of my employees,” she said. “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. 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.”
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