Inmate stabbed in the head had to wait 15 minutes for prison guard to help, SC suit says
A man attacked with a knife in his South Carolina prison cell couldn’t find a correctional officer to help him, he says.
Devodus Rouse was serving time in a Greenville County prison when two armed inmates came into his cell in July 2017, according to a lawsuit filed online this month against the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Rouse was stabbed in his arm, head and “in the back multiple times” before fleeing to get help, the lawsuit says.
The on-duty prison guard wasn’t in the prison wing, forcing Rouse to wait “at least” 15 minutes for an officer to come, according to the court document.
The suit says the facility, Perry Correctional Institution, was understaffed and didn’t take appropriate steps to stop violence.
The South Carolina Department of Corrections doesn’t comment on pending litigation, spokeswoman Chrysti Shain says.
Rouse was taken to a hospital and upon his return, the prison put his “assailants on the same yard,” according to the lawsuit.
Rouse is in prison for voluntary manslaughter, The Greenville News reported.
He is now at the Turbeville Correctional Institution, according to the lawsuit.
This story was originally published July 17, 2019 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Inmate stabbed in the head had to wait 15 minutes for prison guard to help, SC suit says."
