RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — Richland County deputies are investigating after two overdose deaths this week at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
A third overdose also happened Tuesday night, though the inmate survived. It happened shortly after the RCSD performed a sweep of the jail but didn't find any drugs.
"The drugs you’re taking there can kill you," Sheriff Leon Lott said in a presser today on the deaths. "I cannot stand here and say that there’s not more fentanyl or this other synthetic drugs that’s not at the jail. There probably is."
According to the Sheriff's Department, the death of 25 year old Marty Brown on Monday was a result of a fentanyl like drug called pentazocine, while the death of 54 year old Lamont Powell was the result of fentanyl. The drug that caused the third overdose in which the inmate survived on Tuesday night is undetermined, but the Sheriff says the RCSD is not responsible for that investigation since there was no death.
This comes amid an ongoing DOJ investigation and a lawsuit from lawyers at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel who represent 15 detainees at the jail. On Monday, those lawyers filed for an injunction against the county for inhumane conditions" at the jail. They said conditions at the jail haven't been improved since the original lawsuit was filed tow years ago.
"You can see the fear in their eyes," said Stuart Andrews, one of the lawyers representing the detainees in the case. He says many areas in the jail lack access to hygiene products and inmates suffering from mental health issues don't receive adequate support.
"I wish you could hear some of the calls that i get almost every day from grandmothers and mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles that are terrified for their loved ones," Andrews said.
He says the injunction hasn't been granted yet, but the judge has asked to bring in a mediator to try to come to an agreement for both sides. A date hasn't been set for that yet.
Richland County refuted the claims that improvements haven't been made in a statement yesterday, saying they've made significant improvements to the jail last year.
The Department of Corrections, which doesn't have any supervision over the jail but does do inspections, says their tentative plan for the next inspection at Alvin S. Glenn is next month.