Inmate death under investigation at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center
A detainee was found dead at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center Thursday morning, a Richland County spokesperson confirmed.
The inmate, whose name has not been released, was found at approximately 7:15 a.m., said Susan O’Cain, the director of communications for Richland County. The detainee was found non-responsive in his cell during “morning meal pass,” according to a statement from the county. Efforts by the detention center’s on-site medical team to revive the inmate were not successful.
In their statement, county officials said that the detainee, who did not have a cellmate, was “known to have a pre-existing medical condition” and “showed no signs of physical trauma.”
A spokesperson for the Richland County Coroner’s Office said that the detainee died from “natural causes,” noting that there was “nothing suspicious.”
The State spoke with three inmates incarcerated in the same unit as the deceased detainee who said that he had received medical care the previous day, but had not been taken to the hospital. The inmates are in the Papa Unit, which they described as housing detainees who have medical or mental health needs as well as those who have been placed on “lockdown.”
On Wednesday evening, the deceased inmate had been complaining that he was in pain and repeatedly “begging” for water. They said that the deceased inmate’s feet appeared to be severely swollen and he had trouble standing.
However, a member of the jail’s medical staff had said that they thought he would be fine until the morning, the inmates said.
O’Cain said that while she was not aware of any conversations that were had about the inmates medical care, she stated that he was last seen alive during a medical check at 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Officials confirmed that policy requires detention center officers perform rounds to check on cells every 30 minutes, but were unable to confirm whether those inspections were performed last night.
“That is part of an internal investigation,” O’Cain said.
A spokesperson for the Richland County Coroners Office said that they were unable to confirm what time the inmate died.
Thursday’s death is the third confirmed death at the troubled facility so far this year and first since Crayman Harvey became permanent director of the jail in August.
In January, Antonious Randolph, who had been charged following a string of sexual assaults in northeast Columbia, was murdered in his jail cell. Five other inmates were charged with murder after they entered Randolph’s cell, tortured and beat him to death, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. In the ensuing investigation, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department found that many of the cell doors at the jail did not lock properly, “allowing inmates to come and go from their cells.”
Following Randolph’s murder on Jan. 27, the county disclosed that another inmate, Demond Thompson, had died in the jail on Jan. 17. Thompson, who was arrested on a charge of possession of less than one gram of meth or cocaine, died roughly two hours after being brought to the jail.
Public scrutiny has centered on the jail since since the death of Lason Butler in 2022. Butler, who was arrested for failing to stop for police during a mental health episode, died of dehydration. An autopsy report noted that Butler was covered in rat bites. The coroner’s office ruled Butler’s death a homicide.
After taking over as interim director last year, Harvey shut down down the solitary housing unit where Butler was housed. Richland County has also pledged $20 million to upgrade the jail as part of a remediation plan submitted to the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The state agency issued an ultimatum to the county after the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center failed to meet more than a dozen minimum standards in an October 2022 inspection.
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This story was originally published October 26, 2023 at 10:05 AM.