For decades, officials with the Department of Corrections have coped with a growing prison population amid budget cutbacks and staff shortages, particularly amid its prison guard ranks. Now, against the backdrop of an horrendous April riot that left seven inmates dead and multiple others injured, corrections chief Bryan Stirling says the agency is making changes, working to empty prisons of non-violent offenders and help those men and women become productive members of society. South Carolina’s effort mirror that of other states and the federal government working to end an era of mass incarceration.

T. Michael Boddie, Rebecca Brennan and Rachel Pittman examine the issues surrounding adult and juvenile prisoners in a four-part series.