BISHOPVILLE, SC (WBTW) – A local civil rights organization is calling for the warden of Lee Correctional Institution to step down after Sunday night’s deadly riot that left 7 inmates dead.
Members of the South Carolina National Action Network say they also want all prisoners responsible for the 7 deaths to be held accountable and prosecuted “to the fullest.”
The groups says they are disappointed in the way the situation was handled, the timeline of events, and the response from Governor Henry McMaster, who said the inmates at Lee Correctional Center are “dangerous people” and we “cannot expect them to give up their dangerous ways.”
The president of the organization, Elder James Johnson, says the responsibility of this incident lies with the warden.
“Bodies was piling up. And I believe there are some innocent people who died in this prison and just got caught up in it,” said Johnson. “And I don’t know what the governor is talking about. People die in prison. We know but not seven at a time because the negative of the warden here didn’t have a plan to stop it.”
During Monday’s press conference, the Director of the State Corrections Department said a fight over money and contraband sparked the riot, and said cell phones were to blame.
But Pastor Thomas Dixon, who has spent time behind bars, says he’s not buying it. He believes there’s more to the incident than state authorities are revealing. He says Lee Correctional Center has a history of murders, violence, and poor living and health conditions. He says he does agree that cell phones are an issue but there are a number of other problems in the prison that need to also be addressed.
“Cell phones didn’t do it. There were weapons involved in what did it. Probably prison shanks. Knives is what they call them,” said DIxon. “When a person goes to jail, it’s not an automatic death sentence. And those who run the prisons are charged with the protection and safety of their care. If they had enough prison knives to kill 7 and wound 17 more, who’s doing the serving and protecting?”
The group is asking for an FBI investigation and is requesting all videos from the riot under the Freedom of Information Act. They also say they want better training for correctional officers to prevent riots in the future.
