On December 7, 2017, eighteen death row prisoners in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) alleged they have been kept in solitary confinement for between nine and twenty years. Plaintiffs sued SCDC, its Director, and Wardens of prisons within the SCDC under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments rights by being denied any meaningful opportunity to challenge their conditions of confinement. The prisoners alleged that they were placed in solitary confinement regardless of behavioral history or individual status. The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Thomas E Rogers, III.

On December 22, 2017, the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction asserting that they were transferred from Lieber Correctional Institution to the Maximum Security Unit at Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, which provided even harsher conditions than those previously experienced in their solitary confinement at Lieber. On April 16, 2018, the plaintiffs amended their complaint.

On June 26, 2018, Magistrate Judge Rogers issued a Report and Recommendation that the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction be denied. Judge Rogers found that the plaintiffs failed to make a showing that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their due process claim. As of August 8, 2018, the case is still ongoing.

Abigail DeHart - 08/08/2018


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