South Carolina sends 48 'problematic' inmates to private-prison in Mississippi

COLUMBIA — The S.C. Department of Corrections has transferred 48 inmates to a privately operated maximum security prison in Mississippi.

The transfer, confirmed by the prisons system Monday, involved inmates considered "problematic," meaning they posed potential dangers to other inmates. The move was made "to help improve the safety and security of our institutions," spokesman Jeffrey Taillon said.

The transfer comes two months after a deadly April riot at Lee Correctional Institution where seven inmates were killed — the highest death toll at an U.S. prison in 25 years.

More:Death, violence in SC prisons: How Lee Correctional Institution puts gangs before safety

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In recent years the number of inmates killed in S.C. prisons has grown. Last year, 12 inmates were killed in state prisons, up from five in 2016.

In recent months, the prisons system — plagued by chronic understaffing — has been hit by more than a dozen lawsuits, alleging unsafe conditions for inmates at numerous S.C. prisons. Prison officials say the system needs at least 600 more correctional officers to increase security.

The inmates were transferred to Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, a for-profit prison operated by CoreCivic, a private corporation. The Tallahatchie facility is a high-security prison that houses about 2,500 inmates.

The S.C. prisons system gave The State a list of the transferred inmates, whose names still appear on the prisons system's "inmate search" website. The inmates are listed as being incarcerated at "CoreCivic." The company, one of the nation's largest for-profit prison companies, formerly was known as the Corrections Corporation of America.

A spot check of 10 of the inmates transferred found all had been convicted of crimes against people — ranging from murder to first-degree burglary — and all have records of in-prison disciplinary violations.

For example, Darnell Khan, 35, was convicted in Richland County in 2015 of voluntary manslaughter, first-degree burglary and attempted armed robbery. During his three years in prison, Khan has committed numerous disciplinary infractions, including possession of a weapon, inciting a disturbance and possession of contraband, the prisons system says.

Inmates were transferred by vehicle to the Mississippi prison on June 28 and June 29, Taillon said. It cost $17,974 to transfer the inmates, he said.

South Carolina will pay $70 a day to house each inmate at Tallahatchie County Correctional Institution. That is $12.67 more a day than the $57.33 a day that South Carolina pays to house an inmate in the Palmetto State, Taillon said.

The S.C. prisons system has more than 19,000 inmates in 21 prisons across the state.