Inmates: Some SC prisons have been locked down for 8 months

Some South Carolina inmates say their prisons are still on lockdown months after the deadly riot at Lee Correctional Institution. Lee Correctional Institution/FILE

Some South Carolina inmates say their prisons are still on lockdown months after the deadly riot at Lee Correctional Institution. Lee Correctional Institution /FILE

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Some inmates in South Carolina say their prisons still are on lockdown eight months after a riot that killed seven inmates.

The State reported Thursday that more than two dozen inmates have written to the newspaper about the lockdowns, which the American Civil Liberties Union challenged in a lawsuit earlier this year.

The inmate letters detail restrictive practices such as often being denied showers or being held in their cells 24 hours a day.

The state Department of Corrections says eight of its 21 prisons have been on lockdown for eight months, but inmates are allowed out of their cells at times.

The Corrections Department has partially blamed under staffing for the lengthy lockdowns since the April riot that left seven inmates dead at a prison in Bishopville east of Columbia.