CHARLESTON, S.C. – Experts say more than half of those sitting in South Carolina jails right now are suffering from mental illness, but most facilities lack the resources to help them.
Inmates inside jails throughout South Carolina are waiting for months, sometimes even over a year to receive court-ordered mental health treatment. And while waiting for help, inmates are committing suicide.
‘He was asking for help’
Forrest Kreider was an inmate inside the Charleston County Jail who repeatedly voiced feelings of depression to staff and cellmates for months. And when his father, Shawn Kreider, found out his son had taken his own life in April 2024.
“I was angry,” Kreider said. “I was really angry and upset that he’d be unsupervised, knowing he’d come out and said he was depressed.”…