Unresponsive inmate dies after found at Richland County jail, SC officials say
A man who was an inmate at a jail in Columbia died Tuesday night, according to Richland County officials.
The 66-year-old inmate was unresponsive when he was found on a unit recreation yard inside the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, officials said Wednesday in a news release.
Information about why the man was being held at the jail was not available.
Life-saving measures were performed by onsite medical personnel and emergency first responders who were called, according to the release. The inmate was then taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at 8:34 p.m., officials said.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office has neither publicly identified the inmate nor announced his cause of death.
There was no word if foul play is suspected in the inmate’s death, or if he died of a medical emergency, natural causes or another cause.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said that based on witness statements, the inmate’s death is believed to be a possible overdose; however, the official cause of death remains under investigation by the coroner’s office.
At about 9:30 a.m., Richland County officials said both the coroner’s office and the sheriff’s department were “actively investigating” the death.
“It is important to note that the sheriff’s department was not notified by detention center staff at any point during or immediately following this incident, as is expected when a death occurs under these circumstances,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement. “Instead, our agency was first notified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office at approximately 9 a.m. on April 8, nearly 14 hours after the initial incident.”
The sheriff’s department has since initiated an investigation to determine whether any criminal activity contributed to the inmate’s death. The sheriff’s department also said “it’s reviewing the circumstances surrounding the lack of timely notification, as prompt communication is critical to ensuring a thorough and transparent investigation.”
In their release, county officials said they are “unable to provide any additional information at this time.”
A separate incident
The sheriff’s department said deputies did respond to the jail Wednesday for a separate incident.
At about 4:15 p.m., both deputies and members of EMS were called to the detention center after an inmate had been stabbed multiple times, the sheriff’s department said.
The inmate was taken to an area hospital, according to the sheriff’s department. Further information on the inmate’s condition was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word on a motive for the stabbing, and no arrests have been reported by the sheriff’s department, which is continuing to investigate both recent incidents at the jail.
The jail’s recent record
Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center is a county-run facility that can hold approximately 1,100 inmates who have been arrested and who are awaiting trial, as well as some who have been sentenced.
The jail is managed by the Richland County government, not the sheriff’s department.
The Richland County jail has drawn criticism for years because of deaths, violence, poor conditions and understaffing. In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the findings of its investigation into the jail, saying a “culture of violence” became “pervasive, systematic and commonplace,” at the detention center.
In March, it was reported that Richland County officials agreed to pay $3.8 million, out of the county budget, to avoid a trial in a wrongful death lawsuit over an inmate’s death at the jail, The State reported. Another $6 million also must be paid by WellPath insurers, a now-bankrupt healthcare provider, to the inmate’s family to avoid a trial, adding up to $9.8 million in settlements in the death of 27-year-old Lason Butler.
On Feb. 12, 2022, jail officials found Butler dead in his cell. He was covered with rat bites and his cell had no running water, according to a lawsuit. An autopsy found he died of dehydration, the lawsuit alleged. During his 12 days in jail, the 247-pound Butler lost 32 pounds, according to the lawsuit.
The $9.8 million total settlements underscored the dangerous conditions at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, conditions written about in a January 2025 investigative report by the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division. The report noted that conditions at the jail expose inmates to “unreasonable risk of serious harm,” and that a “culture of violence” became “pervasive, systematic and commonplace,” at the detention center.
The county has embarked on a $33 million project to upgrade numerous substandard conditions at the jail, county officials told a State reporter in January 2025, just before the Justice Department’s report was published.
Richland County administrators previously said that they are continuing to make progress on improving conditions at the jail.
Staff reporter John Monk contributed to this story.
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This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 11:05 AM.
