COLUMBIA, SC - Attorney for the family of Lason Butler, the 27-year-old Orangeburg resident who died while in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, Bakari Sellers released the following statement today following a news conference held today by U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs to release the findings of a United States Department of Justice investigation which found a pervasive and systemic culture of violence at the jail. Sellers and Butler family attorneys requested the investigation in February 2023.
The statement reads as follows:
"Today, the United States Department of Justice released the findings of its investigation into conditions at Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, the same conditions that led to Lason Butler’s death in 2022, a death Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford declared homicide pointing directly to “lack of action” by the jail’s staff.
While today’s DOJ findings represent a victory for Lason’s family, they are also a victory for all those who have found themselves the victims of violence, abuse and neglect at Alvin S Glenn and it’s only the beginning.
Regardless of what Richland County’s administration or County Council members say about their jail, who they try to blame or how much they spend on public relations campaigns, we have always maintained that the conditions at Alvin S Glenn are not only unconstitutional, but a danger and disgrace to the people of Richland County. We have always said that the people of Richland County deserve better and, today, the Department of Justice has validated those assertions and provided a clear path forward.
We thank Attorney General Merrick Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and US Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for their diligence and transparency throughout this investigation. The fight for justice does not stop here. We will continue the struggle and we implore Richland County to join us."
Click here for a copy of the request attorneys sent to the DOJ in February.