Inmate dies at Charleston County jail, one of several deaths in recent months (2024)

NORTH CHARLESTON — Deputies with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an apparent natural death around 6:30 p.m. July 3 at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center, according to a news release.

Upon arrival, detention deputies discovered an unresponsive male alone in his cell.

Deputies, medical staff, North Charleston Fire Department personnel and Emergency Medical Services all attempted life-saving measures on the man but were unsuccessful. The man, whose identity hasn’t been released, was pronounced dead on scene.

According to the news release, Sheriff Kristin Graziano has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate. The Office of Professional Standards at the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office will also be conducting an internal review, per protocol.

Recent inmate deaths

In late June, 33-year-old Jordan Bell was found hanging from a light fixture in the Behavioral Management Unit, the jail’s disciplinary housing wing.

In April, 33-year-old Forrest Kreider was found hanging in his cell at the jail. He died at the Medical University of South Carolina the next day, around the same time officials with the U.S. Department of Justice met with community members to hear concerns about how jail employees treat people who are incarcerated.

The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the county jail, as well as the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia in November last year after receiving reports that multiple inmates died at both in recent years due to various forms of mistreatment.

The investigation focuses specifically on each jail’s use of solitary confinement, use of force and whether they discriminate against inmates with psychiatric disabilities.