State pays man $50K following lawsuit, attack at Columbia prison

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The state is paying a man $50,000 following a lawsuit that says he was attacked and stabbed in prison due to a failure in security measures.

The lawsuit states the incident happened while the plaintiff was an inmate at the Goodman Correctional Institution in Columbia during 2017.

It was the following year he says he sued the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

That lawsuit claims that Goodman Correctional had a long history of overcrowding and did not provide adequate security and supervision over the inmates. The plaintiff says this led to his attack.

He says an unknown inmate attacked him for several minutes after 12 known gang members set out to look for a target. He says staff made no attempt to intervene and that he had numerous stab wounds and other injuries.

The lawsuit says the plaintiff incurred medical expenses, permanent scarring, disabilities and still has pain and fear.

The plaintiff says the facility was aware of the potential for violent outbreaks among the inmate population and that they didn't follow safety protocols or have enough officers on duty.

Court documents state the inmate was transferred to another prison in Columbia, Manning Correctional Institute, following this incident.