The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) is the agency responsible for

corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...

in the U.S. state of

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. It currently has about 4,500 employees and just over 15,000 inmates, in 21 institutions. The agency has its headquarters in

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

History

The South Carolina penal system was essentially founded in 1866, when the first state penitentiary was constructed. The SCDC was created in 1960, when the state governor decided to end abuses in the previous system (particularly the use of convict labor on private property as a form of political reward). The new SCDC removed chains and stripes from inmates' uniforms, and it established inmate education programs. The numbers of inmates since the SCDC creation are as follows: 2,073 (1960); 2,705 (1970); 7,869 (1980); 16,149 (1990); 22,053 (2000); 24,710 (2010); 16,169 (2020).

Operations

The Palmetto Unified School District (PUSD), established in 1981, provides educational services to inmates in the system. The district board of trustees meetings are held at the William D. Leeke Administration Building. In 2018, press reports indicated the department was short five hundred corrections officers.

Death row

The state's death row for men is located at Kirkland Correctional Institution (KCI).Death Row/Capital Punishment
" South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. The state's death row for women is located at the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution. Executions occur at the Broad River Correctional Institution. From 1912 to January 1990 male death row inmates were housed in the

Central Correctional Institution The South Carolina Penitentiary (renamed the Central Correctional Institution in 1965) was the state of South Carolina, South Carolina's first prison. Completed in 1867, the South Carolina Penitentiary served as the primary state prison for nearly ...

(CCI). BRCI held male death row inmates from January 1990 to April 12, 1997, when male death row inmates were moved to Lieber. In September 2017, male death row inmates were moved to Kirkland. From 1912 to 1986 executions were carried out at CCI. From 1990 onwards executions occur at BRCI.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, four officers have died in the line of duty.

References

External links

SCDC web site
(This site includes the historical information cited here.)
SCDC Incarcerated Inmate Search
(Search by name or by SCDC ID.) {{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina Department Of Corrections State corrections departments of the United States 1866 establishments in South Carolina

Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...

Government agencies established in 1866