Convicted killer dies from injuries received in assault at SC prison
A convicted murderer serving time at one of the state’s maximum security prisons was killed Monday from injuries he received during an attack.
Ronald Wayne Franks, 62, died around 2:24 a.m., according to a news release by the Dorchester County Coroner’s Office.
Franks was injured during an inmate on inmate assault on Sunday at Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, said Jeff Taillon, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Corrections.
The agency’s police services is leading the investigation, while agents of the State Law Enforcement Division and the Dorchester County Coroner’s Office are assisting.
Franks started serving a life sentence in 1980 for the beating death of James W. Graham, a Conway businessman.
In 1988, Franks gained his freedom for 50 minutes, when the then-33-year-old escaped the Central Correctional Institution in Richland County, The State newspaper reported at the time. Franks hid in a truck leaving the prison and escaped in the view of correctional officers when the truck doors opened. He was captured in a marsh along the Congaree River.
Cynthia Roldán: 803-771-8311, @CynthiaRoldan
This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Convicted killer dies from injuries received in assault at SC prison."