Nearly 800 people died in South Carolina jails and prisons between 2015 and 2021, according to a new report from researchers at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Law students, led by professor Madalyn Wasilczuk, compiled data showing 777 deaths across 52 facilities, including state-run prisons, local detention centers, and a juvenile detention facility, between 2015 and 2021.
Facilities in Richland County were the sites of 301 of those deaths — more than any other county. The majority of those deaths occurred at the state-run Kirkland Correctional Institution (160) and Broad River Correctional Institution (101.) Both institutions are among the largest in the state. Kirkland is rated to hold more people than any other state-run prison, according to Department of Corrections data.
