Richland County to settle class-action case over inadequate care brought by mentally ill detainees
Richland County’s jail lawsuit over inadequate mental‑health care is moving toward settlement after a judge paused the case.Summary
The lawsuit filed by Disability Rights SC against Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center over inadequate mental‑health care has reached a preliminary settlement, with a federal judge pausing the case. The case, nearly five years old, alleged that inmates with mental illness were left unsupervised, restrained, and exposed to dangerous conditions, including suicide attempts, bleach ingestion, and unsanitary cells, leading to deaths such as that of Lason Butler.
The settlement follows prior financial payouts for Butler’s death and other medical neglect, as well as DOJ investigations that found the jail failed to protect inmates from physical violence. While the judge dismissed Eighth Amendment claims, the case remains a class‑action under the 14th Amendment, and attorneys emphasize the county’s commitment to improving mental‑health services for detainees.
(Source：Charleston Post and Courier)