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Gov. Henry McMaster, left, \u00a0SCDC Director Bryan Stirling, center, and SLED Chief Mark Keel discussed the preliminary investigation of the Lee County Correctional riot during a press conference at the South Carolina Department of Corrections on Monday.<\/p>\n
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Lee County Correctional has been the site of several inmate takeovers, hostage situations, and the death of many inmates.<\/p>\n
From the South Carolina Department of Corrections<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/prisonriot_g1_KD_web.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n An\u00a0eight-hour prison riot that killed seven South Carolina inmates\u00a0at a maximum-security prison erupted\u00a0in one dorm during lockdown\u00a0Sunday\u00a0and quickly spread to two\u00a0other\u00a0dorms,\u00a0largely because of contraband cell phones,\u00a0state\u00a0officials said Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gov. Henry McMaster said that the riot at Lee Correctional Institution occurred because the\u00a0maximum-security\u00a0facility in Bishopville\u00a0is full of violent criminals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “We cannot expect them to give up their violent ways when they go to prison,” McMaster said.\u00a0All South Carolina medium- and maximum-security prisons remained on lockdown Tuesday, corrections officials said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bryan Stirling, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, said that the preliminary investigation shows the bloody melee\u00a0was between gangs over territory, money, and contraband. The inmates were armed with homemade knives and some tweeted photographs of bodies stacked again the prison fences.<\/p>\n Stirling has fought\u00a0against the Federal Communications Commission’s refusal to \u00a0allow\u00a0prison facilities to block cell\u00a0signals. This latest outbreak of violence, the deadliest in years, suggests Stirling will continue his push.\u00a0Stirling believes blocking signals would prevent fights over contraband cell phones as well as the communication between dorms, which helps spread riots.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Inmates were being counted and locked into their double-bunked cells at 7:15 p.m. when the fight broke out in one dorm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An hour and 15 minutes later\u00a0another fight in two\u00a0dorms broke out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Officers of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) responded to the scene at 9:20 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The response team entered the first dorm at\u00a011:30 p.m. once they\u00a0had enough officers.\u00a0<\/span>At 12:30 a.m. the officers\u00a0entered the second dorm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n They entered the last dorm at\u00a02 a.m. Monday morning and\u00a0conducted\u00a0roll\u00a0call.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Stirling said there was no\u00a0resistance\u00a0from inmates once the SLED team went inside.\u00a0He defended the guard’s decision to wait for back up officers before entering to subdue the rioting inmates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n South Carolina has struggled to fill vacancies<\/a> in correctional officer ranks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n State officials identified the seven\u00a0inmates killed as: Eddie Casey Jay Gaskins, Joshua Svwin Jenkins, Michael Milledge,\u00a0Cornelius Quantral McClary,\u00a0Damonte Marquez Rivera,\u00a0Raymond Angelo Scott,\u00a0Corey Scott.<\/p>\n Stirling said that cell phones and contraband are issues that facilitate riots in prisons across\u00a0the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Money is being made by criminals locked up through contraband cell phones,” Stirling said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The public can report inmates for social media use online.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Three weeks before the riot, inmates briefly\u00a0took control of a dorm by holding an officer hostage<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n