Inmate killed at Lieber Correctional Institution

A state inmate was killed at Lieber Correctional Institution because of an altercation overnight, a corrections official said.

Ryan Mansfield, 24, died around 1:50 a.m. He was serving time for grand larceny and burglary charges out of Richland County, according to records by the S.C. Department of Corrections.

He’s been in custody since February 2015 and had a projected release date of March 2017. His death was the result of an alleged incident with his cellmate Michael Jerome Brice, said Stephanie Givens, agency spokeswoman.

Brice, 34, was taken into the agency’s custody in January for several drug charges and possession of a firearm out of York County. His projected release date was January 2027.

In February, Brice was placed in disciplinary detention for 15 days and lost several privileges for striking an inmate, according to his inmate report.

Mansfield’s killing is still under investigation by SCDC, and his cause of death has not been released. Charges have not been filed in his killing. The dorm where the incident took place remains on lockdown, Givens said.

Lieber is a maximum security facility in Ridgeville that houses more than 1,200 inmates. It’s also where the agency holds its death row inmates. Executions, however, are carried out at the Broad River Capital Punishment Facility.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Inmate killed at Lieber Correctional Institution."