Denver Simmons is accused of killing for inmates at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP</s>COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Authorities say four inmates have been found dead at a South Carolina prison.

Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling says the four inmates were found dead Friday at 10:35 a.m. in a housing unit at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia.

Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.

“I have asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to lead this investigation,” said Sterling.</s>COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Four inmates were found dead Friday morning in a dorm at one of South Carolina’s maximum-security men’s prisons, authorities said.

The inmates were found at Kirkland Correctional Institution in the capital city of Columbia, Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told The Associated Press.

Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.

Stirling said he asked the State Law Enforcement Division to assist Corrections police with their investigation. Coroner Gary Watts confirmed he was investigating four deaths at the facility, but wouldn’t give any details about how the inmates died.

Kirkland operates a specialized housing unit for the state’s most dangerous inmates, an assessment and evaluation center for new inmates sentenced to more than three months, and a 24-bed infirmary, according to the Corrections website.

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP . Read more of her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/MegKinnardAP .</s>COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Two convicts each serving a life sentence for killing a mother and her child have been charged with murder in the strangulation deaths of four inmates inside a South Carolina prison.

Denver Simmons and Jacob Philip lured each of the four inmates into a cell at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia on Friday morning, then worked together to attack and choke them, according to arrest warrants released early Saturday.

Two of the inmates were also beaten or stabbed with a broken broomstick, according to the warrants released by State Law Enforcement Division agents.

This booking photo provided by South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Jacob Philip. Two convicts each serving a life sentence for killing a mother and her child have been charged with murder in the strangulation deaths of four inmates inside a South Carolina prison. Arrest warrants say Philip and Denver Simmons lured each inmate into a cell at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia Friday, April 7, 2017. The warrants say the men worked together to choke all four inmates. Two of the victims were also beaten and stabbed with a broken broomstick. ( South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

The warrants gave no reason for the attacks and did not indicate how long it took the prisoners to kill their fellow inmates. They did say there is video of the killings and the men confessed to investigators.

The Corrections Department will conduct an internal investigation into the killings after the criminal investigation is finished, Corrections Department Director Bryan Stirling told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Because of the ongoing investigation, Stirling would not talk about whether prison policies were broken or how the inmates came to be together.

Prison records show the four inmates killed were considered minimum security risks. The Kirkland prison serves several roles in South Carolina's system. It operates a specialized housing unit for the state's most dangerous inmates, an assessment and evaluation center for new inmates sentenced to more than three months, and a 24-bed infirmary, according to the Corrections website.

Simmons, 35, has been behind bars since his 2007 arrest on charges he killed a woman he knew in Colleton County, took her debit card and ate pizza for lunch, then got her 13-year-old son from school and killed him too.

Philip, 25, has been in prison since 2013. Authorities said he strangled his girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter in Berkeley County.

Prison records show Simmons has three disciplinary infractions in four years for being out of place, disrespect and refusing to obey an order. Philip has no disciplinary actions against him in nearly two years in state prison.

Records did not show if the inmates had lawyers.

The four inmates killed were John King, 52; Jason Kelley, 35; Jimmy Ham, 56; and William Scruggs, 44, prison officials said.

King was serving time for a variety of crimes and had a projected release date of October 2020. Kelley was serving 15 years for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He was scheduled for release in August 2020.

Ham was scheduled for release this November after serving a sentence for a variety of offenses. Scruggs was sentenced to life in prison for murder and first-degree burglary.

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.</s>COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Four inmates were found dead Friday morning in a dorm at one of South Carolina’s maximum-security men’s prisons, authorities said.

The inmates were found at Kirkland Correctional Institution in the capital city, Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told The Associated Press.

Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.

Stirling said he asked the State Law Enforcement Division to assist Corrections police with their investigation. Coroner Gary Watts confirmed he was investigating four deaths at the Columbia facility but wouldn’t give any details about how the inmates died.

Kirkland operates a specialized housing unit for the state’s most dangerous inmates, an assessment and evaluation center for new inmates sentenced to more than three months, and a 24-bed infirmary, according to the Corrections website.

The prison has been the scene of previous violence. In 2015, two inmates held two nurses hostage with homemade knives for seven hours after forcing their way into a nursing station where prescription drugs were kept. One nurse’s throat was cut, but she survived.

Last year, three corrections officers at Kirkland were fired after officials said they tried to kill an inmate in their care. Authorities said the officers, who were charged with attempted murder and misconduct in office, stabbed an inmate while he was handcuffed.

Their cases are still pending.</s>RICHLAND CO., S.C. (WSPA) – Two inmates at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia are facing multiple murder charges after four inmates were found dead Friday morning just after 10 a.m.

According to SLED, Denver Jordan Simmons, 35 and Jacob Theophilus Philip, 25 have each been charged with four counts of murder. Both are currently serving life sentences for two counts of murder. Simmons was convicted in Colleton County in 2007 and Philip was convicted in Berkeley County in 2013.

The investigation is being handled by SLED with assistance from the SC Department of Corrections Police Services Division.

Both Simmons and Philip are being held at the SC Department of Corrections, according to the arrest report from SLED.

These cases will be prosecuted by the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

SEE PREVIOUS: 4 inmates found dead at a South Carolina prison, authorities say.</s>COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Authorities say four inmates have been found dead at a South Carolina prison.

Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling tells The Associated Press the inmates were found Friday morning in a dorm at Kirkland Correctional Institution in the capital of Columbia. Stirling did not say how they died or release any further information.

The State Law Enforcement Division and Corrections police are investigating.

Coroner Gary Watts confirms he’s investigating four deaths at the facility, but wouldn’t give any details about how the inmates died.</s>Authorities say four inmates have been found dead at a South Carolina prison.</s>Officials from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division charged two inmates with murder after four inmates were found dead at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia Friday. Kirkland is a maximum security prison.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WTSP-TV Saint Petersburg.</s>Four inmates were found dead at a South Carolina prison, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said.

Guards found the inmates at 10:35 a.m. in a dorm at Kirkland Correctional Institution, a state maximum security site outside Columbia that holds approximately 15,000 offenders, said Sommer Sharpe.

“I have asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to lead this investigation,” state prisons chief Bryan Stirling said in a statement.

Authorities did not provide details about how the inmates died.

The South Carolina prison has a history of violent incidents and deaths.

Last year, three correctional officers were fired after authorities said they stabbed an inmate four times in the torso. The officers were charged with attempted murder and misconduct in public office, CNN affiliate WIS reported.

In 2015, a 21-year-old man jailed at the prison died when he suffered a head injury. The coroner’s office determined that the injury was not caused by a fall, officials said in a statement.

A few months before, two inmates serving life sentences took two nurses hostage and held them with homemade knifes for about seven hours, according to CNN affiliate WACH.
Four inmates are killed at Kirkland Correctional Institution in South Carolina. Authorities have charged two inmates with the murders of the four men.