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Deadly SC Prison Riot to Get 'Thorough, Independent' Review

The probe came after a request by the head of South Carolina's prison agency.

Columbia, SC (WLTX, AP) - An outside agency will conduct a review of the riot and fight that left seven inmates dead at a South Carolina prison this week.

South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling asked the Association of State Correctional Administrators to do an independent probe of Sunday's incident at Lee Correctional Institution. The group replied back, saying they would conduct a "thorough review" of the incident, and would assemble a team of "seasoned professionals" to be part of the investigation.

Related: Inmates' Bodies 'Stacked on Top of One Another' at SC Prison

The review will be led by Brad Livingston, the former Director of the Texas Department of Corrections. Livingston led that agency for 10 years, and is currently a consultant.

Credit: Texas Department of Corrections
Brad Livingston

This week's riot began around 7:15 p.m. Sunday in one of the wings of the maximum security prison, eventually spreading to three housing units. It took until 3 a.m. Monday to completely contain the incident.

When it was all over, there were seven dead and 22 injured. Many of the inmates had been stabbed or beaten.

No charges have been filed in the incident yet.

Related: What We Know About the 7 Killed Inmates

Stirling said Monday the incident began with a dispute over with territory, contraband, and cell phones.

Meanwhile, in a letter Thursday, five Democratic lawmakers told Gov. Henry McMaster and Stirling that they want to see conditions inside Lee Correctional Institution firsthand.

The group includes the following lawmakers: Rep. Justin Bamberg (D-Bamberg), Rep. John King (D-Rock Hill), Rep. Todd Rutherford (D-Columbia), Rep. James Smith (D-Columbia), and Rep. Will Wheeler (D-Bishopville).

Related: Attackers Were 'Laughing' at Dying Man During Prison Riot, Inmate Says

The legislators also want information on how inmates have been treated since the riots, including if mental health counseling has been made available.

News 19 spoke with Rep. Rutherford about their requests.

"We want to take a tour and see what it is exactly that we are missing. I'm a lawyer. I'm in a prison, once, twice a month sometimes. And prisons throughout the state, I can tell you that some of the conditions are simply deplorable. I can tell you the fact that they are not getting the amount of rec time that they need, the fact that we took away conjugal visits in this state years ago, the fact that we have simply done all that we can to treat people as harshly and as inhumanely as possible and we are wondering why they react. Well, at least most of us decent human beings are wondering. The Governor wasn't wondering at all. He simply said stuff happens," Rutherford said.

Director Stirling's spokesperson said Stirling was unavailable for an interview and we are still waiting to hear back from the Governor's Office.

Letter to Director Stirling From Democratic Lawmakers by WLTX on Scribd

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