William Scruggs
William Scruggs, 44, was held at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, in a unit for prisoners with mental illness. On April 7, 2017, he was found dead with three other men in the unit, and the Richland County coroner said the deaths did not appear natural. Arrest warrants say two fellow prisoners lured him into a cell and strangled him, and Denver Simmons told the Associated Press that he and Jacob Philip had done it, using an offer of cookies as the lure. Lawsuits filed by the families of the four men say prison officials failed to supervise the unit and left dangerous conditions in place, and they link the killings to inadequate mental health care. The South Carolina Department of Corrections denies wrongdoing.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said the deaths did not appear natural and that he was strangled while someone pressed on his chest, and the State Law Enforcement Division's warrants say two fellow prisoners strangled him; families' federal lawsuits say prison officials failed to supervise the unit and left dangerous conditions in place, and the Department of Corrections denies the allegations.
Reported by: Richland County Coroner Gary Watts (medical examiner or coroner); State Law Enforcement Division arrest warrants (outside investigators); Denver Simmons, in an interview with the Associated Press (witnesses); families, in federal lawsuits (family or their lawyers); South Carolina Department of Corrections (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: The families of the four men killed sued South Carolina prison officials, alleging they failed to supervise the unit where the men were housed, and the Department of Corrections denies wrongdoing.
Sources (21)
- Incarceration Transparency, South Carolina Deaths Behind Bars (Prof. Madalyn Wasilczuk and Incarceration Transparency)
- Four inmates found dead in Columbia prison
- Authorities: 4 inmates found dead at a South Carolina prison
- Four inmates found dead at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia
- Four inmates found dead at South Carolina prison
- Authorities: 4 inmates found dead at maximum-security prison
- Two South Carolina Inmates Charged With Killing Four Other Prisoners
- 4 inmates found dead at maximum-security S.C. 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
- 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
- Seven inmates brutally killed with knives in South Carolina prison unrest
- 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
- 2 SC prisoners get life for murdering 4 fellow Kirkland inmates