Richard R. Valenti
Richard Valenti, 77, died on December 16, 2020, while held at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, according to the state Department of Corrections, which said he died of natural causes and not COVID-19. The department said he had been hospitalized since November 18, and prison records show multiple medical absences from January of that year. A family member said the news brought relief, since the family no longer had to attend parole hearings.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The South Carolina Department of Corrections said he died of natural causes unrelated to COVID-19 after spending much of the previous year in and out of hospitals.
Reported by: South Carolina Department of Corrections (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.
Custody: Serving a sentence, held about 46 years. The illness that caused the death began in custody, the facility reported.
Sources (4)
- Incarceration Transparency, South Carolina Deaths Behind Bars (Prof. Madalyn Wasilczuk and Incarceration Transparency)
- South Carolina Department of Corrections records, via UCLA Law Behind Bars
- Richard Valenti, convicted for 1973 Folly Beach murders, passes away on Wednesday
- Richard Valenti, convicted in 1973 double murder, dies