Charleston Country Juvenile Detention Center

A Charleston Country Juvenile Detention Center has been found to be abusing children since the original detention center was built in 1967.  The children who were incarcerated here and expected rehabilitation and proper care, were instead confined to restraint chairs and solitary confinement. The center was found to be abusing chlidren’s basic rights in a five-year case by shacking them by their ankles, tying them to chairs for hours, sometimes weeks, and leaving them in the solitary “wet room” which consisted of nothing but a drain in the middle.

This case is expected to change the way detention centers operate in South Carolina—moving away from worsening the behavior of misguided children and towards improving it. As Attorney Robert Brunson explained, “If you don’t respect their rights as human beings, then they’re much less likely over the long haul to respect the rights of other human beings as well.”

The truth behind this case may explain why ex-incarcerated individuals may act without self-respect or be inconsiderate towards others. If the detention center actually improves their treatment of the children, Charleston County may one day see a decrease in dangerous behavior of formerly incarcerated people.

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” (James Baldwin).