LaRoyal Harley
LaRoyal Harley, a 22-year-old woman, died on March 2, 2024, at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County, South Carolina, where she was held before trial. Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said she died by suicide by hanging after being moved to a lockdown unit. A sworn statement from another person held at the jail, filed in a federal lawsuit, says no guards came to the cell block for hours before her body was found. Attorneys for Disability Rights South Carolina say her records show serious mental illness and suicidal thoughts, while Richland County says she had no history of mental health issues.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). Coroner Naida Rutherford ruled it a suicide by hanging, but inmates say no officer was on the unit for hours and her body was not removed promptly, and Disability Rights South Carolina says her serious mental illness and suicidal thoughts were not acted on.
Reported by: Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford (medical examiner or coroner); inmate declarations filed in a federal lawsuit; Disability Rights South Carolina (advocates).
Sources (6)
- Female detainee found dead at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center
- Woman who died at Alvin S. Glenn was held on weapons charge with cash bond
- Richland County announces third detainee death this year, civil rights investigation continues
- If Richland County were ‘saddened’ by jail deaths at Alvin S. Glenn, it would stop them | Opinion
- She was hanging for hours. Richland jail is a danger to mentally ill, lawsuit says
- How understaffing, mental health failures led to ‘mounting crisis’ in Richland County jail