Man dies after being attacked by other inmates at SC prison, officials say

An inmate at a South Carolina correctional institution died after being attacked by other prisoners Wednesday, the Department of Corrections said.

Travis Antwan Lee, 28, was taken to a hospital where he died following the assault, spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said in a news release.

The attack happened at Lee Correctional Institution, the same prison where seven inmates were killed during fights that lasted more than seven hours in 2018. The prison is in Bishopville, about 50 miles east of Columbia.

Lee was in his dorm when he was attacked by several inmates, according to the release.

Information on what led to the attack, and the number of inmates involved, was not included in the release.

The death is being investigated by the Department of Corrections Police Services and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Shain said.

Lee was serving an 18-year prison sentence for attempted murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy, according to the release.

Lee Correctional is a men’s-only, high-security institution that houses 1,289 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections. Like other Level 3 prisons in South Carolina, Lee is “designed primarily to house violent offenders with longer sentences, and inmates who exhibit behavioral problems,” the Department of Corrections said.

In addition to the seven inmates killed at Lee Correctional in the April 15, 2018 fights, 17 others were injured in the incident, The State reported.

Lee Correctional has had other violent incidents over the years. The State previously reported there have been several large insurrections, including one in which an inmate overpowered a guard and used his keys to free other prisoners from their cells.

In February, an inmate attacked and tried to sexually assault an employee at Lee Correctional, according to the Department of Corrections.

This is the second homicide the Department of Corrections reported in 2020.

The first happened earlier this month, when an inmate was attacked in a living unit at McCormick Correctional Institution, according to the Department of Corrections.

Deshawn Livaughn Simmons, 28, died on Nov. 3 at an area hospital after he was found in his cell with a single stab wound to his back, Shain said in a news release. That death is also being investigated by the Department of Corrections Police Services and SLED.