Seven dead in South Carolina prison fight

Seven inmates died and at least 17 others were seriously injured in an hourslong brawl that broke out in a South Carolina prison Sunday. Inmates fought for more than seven hours before authorities regained control early Monday at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C., said state prisons spokesman Jeff Taillon. It’s unclear how the violence started, and no prison guards were hurt. Most of the slain inmates were stabbed with makeshift weapons, while the remainder appeared to have been be beaten, according to Lee County Coroner Larry Logan. The prison fight follows several years of increasing violence in South Carolina correctional facilities. The number of inmates taken to the hospital for assault injuries the past two years doubled to 250 from the two previous years, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C.