Jail

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating two South Carolina jails for possible civil rights violations following a string of deaths in Charleston and Richland Counties.

A detainee's body was found dead about 18 hours after five men beat him in a South Carolina jail where the sheriff said many cell doors don't lock — the latest troubling incident in a detention center described as a “death trap” by the lawyer for a different man found dead last year with fresh rat bites on his body.

A total of a dozen inmates are now facing charges after a South Carolina jail riot in which two guards were held hostage and injured. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott held a news conference in Columbia on Wednesday to announce charges against 10 inmates. Two other men were charged earlier this month. Authorities have been trying to determine how many inmates were involved in the riot on Sept. 3 at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Inmates attacked two officers and destroyed much of a unit before officers got control. Two jail officers were hospitalized with injuries. No inmates were hurt.

A South Carolina prosecutor has decided not to charge two jail employees who stunned a mentally ill Black man 10 times and kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing. Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Monday that the Charleston County jail guards in January were following their aggressive training in handling inmates, so she could not prove the guards intended to kill 31-year-old Jamal Sutherland. He had been recently booked on a misdemeanor and was refusing to go to his bond hearing. Charleston County earlier this year agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to Sutherland's family. Federal officials are investigating the death to see if Sutherland's civil rights were violated.

A South Carolina county has agreed to pay $10 million to the family of a man with mental health issues who died in jail in January. The Charleston County Council voted Tuesday evening to approve the settlement to Jamal Sutherland's family. Video released by Charleston County officials this month shows deputies repeatedly deployed stun guns and knelt on Jamal Sutherland's back before he stopped moving. Officials say that an hour later, Sutherland was pronounced dead. The prosecutor looking into the case has said she is consulting external experts before deciding whether to pursue criminal charges. Two deputies involved in the case have been fired.