Ronald Wayne Franks
Ronald Wayne Franks, a 62-year-old man, died in November 2017 at Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, South Carolina, where he was held in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The department said the death followed an altercation between two people held at the prison, and it was investigated by SLED and the Dorchester County coroner's office. FITSNews reported that the assault took place in his cell, and that the outlet had received conflicting accounts of what happened. The coroner's report was still pending when the early reports were published, and the Post and Courier later described the death as following a fight with another person held at the prison.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody. The South Carolina Department of Corrections investigated the death as an inmate-on-inmate altercation, and a summary attributed to sources close to the prison says the attacker was another inmate under the influence of drugs.
Reported by: South Carolina Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); sources close to the prison.
Custody: Serving a sentence, held about 37 years.
Sources (5)
- Incarceration Transparency, South Carolina Deaths Behind Bars (Prof. Madalyn Wasilczuk and Incarceration Transparency)
- South Carolina Department of Corrections records, via UCLA Law Behind Bars
- Inmate Dead At Lieber Correctional Institution
- Lieber Correctional Slaying: Details Released
- A sampling of violence at South Carolina prisons