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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.
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The parents of a mentally ill Black man who died in a South Carolina jail are calling for state lawmakers to pass both a hate crimes law and a bill specifying excessive force by officers is illegal. Jamal Sutherland's parents appeared Wednesday with members of the Black Legislative Caucus who are unhappy the proposals have stalled in the General Assembly. Sutherland died in January 2021 after he was shocked by employees who then kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing. The hate crime bill passed the House but is stalled in the Senate. Another bill supported by Sutherland's family would specify officers using excessive force is a crime.
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The family of a mentally ill Black man who died after South Carolina jail employees repeatedly stunned him and then kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing is still seeking criminal charges one year later. Relatives for Jamal Sutherland want South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson to prosecute the Charleston County guards who restrained the 31-year-old shortly before his death. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson had said last year that she couldn't prove the guards intended to kill Sutherland.
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A prominent civil rights attorney is calling on a South Carolina prosecutor to revisit a case and criminally charge the two jail employees who stunned a mentally ill Black man 10 times and kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson previously said the Charleston County jail deputies who were seen on surveillance video restraining Jamal Sutherland wouldn't face charges because she couldn't prove the guards intended to kill him. Attorney Ben Crump says there's enough evidence to bring involuntary manslaughter charges against the guards, who were both fired in May. Charleston County had also previously agreed to pay a $10 million settlement to Sutherland's family.
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Jamal Sutherland's family, a newly elected sheriff and the solicitor weigh in on a need for change following a decision not file charges against two detention officers.
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The South Carolina prosecutor investigating the January jail death of a mentally ill Black man says she needs more time to decide whether she will press criminal charges in the case.
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A coroner has changed the death certificate of Jamal Sutherland, a mentally ill Black man who died in a South Carolina jail earlier this year, to say he died by homicide, attorneys for Sutherland's relatives said Tuesday.
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A South Carolina prosecutor says she is pursuing outside opinions after reviewing official reports on the January jail death of a man with mental health issues.
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Two Charleston County sheriff's deputies involved in the January death of an inmate with mental health issues have been fired, days after the release of video clips showing deputies repeatedly deploying stun guns and kneeling on the man’s back before he stops moving.
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In newly released video of the January death of a South Carolina inmate with mental health issues, deputies are seen repeatedly deploying stun guns and kneeling on the man's back before he stops moving. An hour later, officials said, the man was pronounced dead.