A mentally ill father of two who died of neglect in the state’s largest jail. A police chief who lost an ear during an attack by a man in psychosis. A man who faced about 100 charges or citations over three decades as he battled schizophrenia.
They are among hundreds of people caught in the cycle between South Carolina’s overloaded mental health system and its slow-moving courts.
The Post and Courier’s new five-part investigative series, “Caught in the Cycle,” reveals how the state’s handling of mentally ill defendants delays justice for crime victims, drains taxpayer dollars and pushes vulnerable people deeper into crisis.
Sparked by a court error that left more than 200 confidential psychiatric evaluations unsealed, the investigation offers a rare look into a system that is typically hidden from public view. Reporters found a frayed safety net that forces individuals to cycle between jails and hospitals, often without long-term care until minor offenses escalate into major tragedies.
The investigation found:
• A staggering death toll: Since 2015, at least 100 mentally ill people have died behind bars in South Carolina jails. Defendants have gone without adequate care, with some dying from dehydration and medical neglect while waiting an average of eight months for treatment intended to restore their competency.
• A flawed “hamster wheel” system: The reporting shows that competency restoration does not equate to comprehensive behavioral health care. Instead, the system often aims to get individuals well enough to stand trial, not to receive sustained treatment.
• Decades of interactions: Without long-term care, defendants repeatedly cycle through the system. Unsealed records and criminal histories show some individuals had more than 100 interactions with law enforcement, often for minor offenses that escalated without proper intervention.
• Justice delayed for victims: The cyclical system stalls cases as defendants move between jails and hospitals, leaving victims waiting for resolution.
• A significant taxpayer burden: The state’s failure to provide adequate care has cost more than $25 million in wrongful death and medical malpractice settlements since 2014. Some inmates with serious mental illness cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to house in local detention centers.
“Our investigation exposed the depth of a growing crisis in our judicial system, where mentally ill defendants cycle through jails and courts without receiving needed treatment — only to be released and reoffend,” said Jeff Taylor, executive editor of The Post and Courier. “The consequences are often devastating for victims and costly for taxpayers. Jail staff, police and judges are placed in situations they are not equipped to handle, while the accused remain trapped in an overwhelmed system.”
The full series and video are available at postandcourier.com/CaughtInTheCycle.