John King
John King, 52, was one of four men killed in April 2017 at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. Corrections officials identified him, and the Richland County coroner's autopsy found he was strangled with an electrical cord. Warrants say two fellow prisoners lured him into a cell and attacked him, and Denver Simmons and Jacob Philip pleaded guilty to four counts of murder in 2019. Simmons told the AP that King liked coffee. Families' lawsuits say prison officials failed to supervise the unit where the men were housed, and the Department of Corrections has denied the allegations.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). Fellow prisoners strangled him in his cell, according to the Richland County coroner and State Law Enforcement Division warrants, and the families' lawsuits say prison officials failed to supervise the unit and provide adequate mental health care.
Reported by: South Carolina Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Richland County Coroner Gary Watts (medical examiner or coroner); State Law Enforcement Division warrants (outside investigators); Denver Simmons, in an interview with the Associated Press (witnesses); families' federal lawsuits (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family and other families of the four men killed at Kirkland Correctional Institution in April 2017 filed federal lawsuits against prison officials, and the Department of Corrections has denied wrongdoing; no settlement or award amount 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