Jimmy Ham
Jimmy Ham, 56, was one of four men found dead on the morning of April 7, 2017, in a housing unit for prisoners with mental illness at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. The Richland County coroner's autopsy found that he was strangled, and the coroner said the deaths did not appear natural. Officials say two fellow prisoners confessed to the killings, which involved luring the men into a cell. His family's federal lawsuit says he was lured there with the promise of drugs, beaten, and his body hidden under a sheet, and that guards failed to notice the bodies during security checks and officials ignored known risks in the unit. The Department of Corrections has denied the allegations in a related state lawsuit.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). Two fellow prisoners strangled him, according to the coroner, SLED warrants and the Department of Corrections; his family's lawsuit says guards failed to notice the bodies during security checks and officials ignored known risks in the mental health unit.
Reported by: South Carolina Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); State Law Enforcement Division warrants (outside investigators); Richland County Coroner Gary Watts (medical examiner or coroner); his family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Denver Simmons, a fellow prisoner, in an interview with the AP (witnesses).
Lawsuit: His family sued prison officials in federal court over his death at Kirkland Correctional Institution, alleging guards failed to protect him and ignored known risks in a unit housing mentally ill inmates, and the Department of Corrections denied wrongdoing; no settlement or award has been reported.
Sources (14)
- Four inmates found dead in Columbia prison
- Authorities: 4 inmates found dead at a South Carolina prison
- Coroner: 4 slain inmates were strangled within 30 minutes
- Officials releases warrants after two inmates admit killing four others at SC prison
- Inmate from Flintstone one of two charged with killing 4 in South Carolina prison
- 'This should've never happened.' Mom of strangled South Carolina inmate questions how guards missed deadly attack
- Colleton County murderer Denver Simmons says he killed fellow inmates to get death penalty
- SC inmate dies; spokeswoman says death followed prison fight
- South Carolina prison failed to protect four inmates who were strangled to death, lawsuits charge
- A sampling of violence at South Carolina prisons
- Mental health issues tied to SCDC settlements after deaths - Index-Journal
- Prison officials knew a voice told inmate to kill. He was left alone anyways, suit says
- Two SC inmates sentenced to life in mass murders of four other inmates
- S.C. inmates in jail for murder plead guilty to killing 4 fellow prisoners