Keishawn Omar McManus
Keishawn Omar McManus was 27 and had been held in South Carolina Department of Corrections custody, first at Lee Correctional Institution and then at Perry Correctional Institution in Pelzer. He had sickle cell disease and mental health distress, and he wrote to The Post and Courier that he feared for his life. A federal wrongful death lawsuit by special administrator Paul Swearingen says he hanged himself in his cell on January 31, 2020, after a counselor said she would check on him the next day, and that a guard recorded a check but did not see him for hours. The lawsuit also ties his death to injuries from the 2018 Lee attack and alleges prison officials failed to treat him, while prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said it appears to be a suicide and the State Law Enforcement Division was still investigating.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). Prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said it appears to be a suicide, while the federal lawsuit says a counselor promised a check the next day, a guard recorded a check but did not see him for hours, and officials failed to treat him, and his attorney Bakari Sellers disputes that he died by suicide.
Reported by: South Carolina Department of Corrections (prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain) (the agency that held him); federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by special administrator Paul Swearingen (family or their lawyers); attorney Bakari Sellers (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Paul Swearingen, special administrator of Keishawn McManus's estate, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging prison officials failed to prevent his suicide and to treat him, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.
Sources (4)
- Incarceration Transparency, South Carolina Deaths Behind Bars (Prof. Madalyn Wasilczuk and Incarceration Transparency)
- SC inmate injured in Lee riot dies in suspected suicide
- SC Inmate Stabbed, Left to ‘Bleed to Death’ In Riot Later Killed Himself, Federal Lawsuit Against SCDC Says
- Charges filed in SC's Lee prison riot 2 years after 7 inmates died in eruption of violence