constitutional violations that we found to exist in the Jail, including the legal framework applied, the unacceptable conditions identified, and the deficient practices that led to the problems. We end by identifying changes that ASGDC needs to implement to fix the violations. 1 BACKGROUND I. The Jail A. Description of the Facility ASGDC is in Columbia, South Carolina. It serves as the intake and detention center for unsentenced individuals charged with misdemeanors and felonies, as well as an incarceration facility for sentenced individuals. Columbia is the state capital and county seat of Richland County, a county with a population of more than 400,000 that includes the University of South Carolina and the U.S. Army base at Fort Jackson. Richland County is governed by a County Council of eleven members elected to four-year terms. Unlike most jails in South Carolina, which are operated by county sheriff’s departments, ASGDC is under the authority of the County Council, which provides funding and oversight for the Jail. Director Crayman Harvey is responsible for daily operations, under the management of County Administrator Leonardo Brown. While the Richland County Sheriff’s Department plays no role in the operation of the Jail, it is responsible for criminal investigations of alleged criminal activity at the Jail. The current facility was constructed in five phases between 1994 and 2005. As of December 2024, the total rated capacity of the facility was 1,120 people. When DOJ visited the Jail in December 2024, the total population in custody was 965. Adults are housed in 15 units, including intake and transfer units. Each housing unit has a bed capacity of 56. Two units are high custody restrictive housing units (a third is currently closed for renovations). Four units house higher security level men, four house medium security level men, and one houses older men. ASGDC has one unit for women. There is also a mental health unit and a medical unit. On December 8, 2023, ASGDC reopened the Behavior Modification Unit (BMU), formerly the Special Housing Unit, after renovations. The BMU is used for disciplinary and administrative holds, as well as protective custody. As of December 2024, ASGDC was in the process of renovating five units, four of which they plan to use as housing units. ASGDC uses a separate building to house youths, with three eight-bed dormitory wings and two observation cells in the front of the building. Following an announcement by Richland County in June 2024 that it intended to close the juvenile facility, ASGDC transferred all youths to the custody of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, with the exception of youths charged as adults who remain at ASGDC. The Jail was designed to operate on a direct supervision management system. Under this model, security personnel should be posted inside the unit and not separated from the incarcerated population by barriers that prevent direct interaction. The system requires officers to be present in the housing units and to provide frequent, non- scheduled observation of and personal interactions with the incarcerated population. 2 B. Violence Persists Despite Recent Efforts to Address Conditions in the Jail While we commend the County for recent efforts to improve Jail conditions, people incarcerated at ASGDC continue to face an unreasonable risk of serious harm. County officials and ASGDC administration have been on notice for several years of systemic deficiencies in the operations and physical condition of the Jail, many of which have contributed to violence in the facility.1 The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDOC) conducted annual inspections of the Jail from 2018 to 2023. SCDOC found severe staffing shortages and ongoing issues with key control, malfunctioning doors and locks, inappropriate housing, insufficient supervision, and deteriorating physical conditions that creat
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