Inmate who shot deputy in face killed in Lee Correctional Institution

Was serving 45 years for attempted murder

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An inmate who was serving 45 years for shooting a sheriff's deputy in the face was killed in a Lee County prison during a fight with another inmate on Thursday, state prison officials said.

Robert Odell Brown, 33, was identified as the man who was killed during an "inmate on inmate" altercation at Lee County Correctional Institution in Bishopville, according to a social media post from the South Carolina Department of Corrections (DOC) and The Associated Press.

Brown had been in prison for attempted murder and other offenses, including breaking into a vehicle and resisting arrest, since 2012 for shooting a Spartanburg County deputy in 2011. He was expected to be released in 2048 and was eligible for parole in 2043, according to DOC inmate records.

He had 10 disciplinaries on his inmate record between January 2013 and March 2017 for threatening to inflict harm on an employee, disrespect, refusing to obey orders, abuse of privileges and possessing or attempting to possess a cell phone.

Brown earned seven work credits between September 2012 and September 2016, including wardkeeper, food service aide, general worker, wash rack attendant and horticulturist, which he was currently still doing.

Information about the inmate who killed Brown was not released.

Lee Correctional Institution is a Level 3 maximum security prison for males often convicted of violent crimes that opened in 1993.

In November 2017, a 51-year-old inmate was stabbed to death by another inmate.

The prison is at the center of an outcry from national prosecutors, prison directors and others who want the Federal Communications Commission to find a way to prevent cellphones from being used by inmates by jamming their signals, making them useless.

Sumter resident Capt. Robert Johnson was a corrections officer at the prison in Bishopville when an inmate orchestrated his assassination attempt using an illegal phone. Johnson, who was tasked with overseeing efforts to keep cellphones and other contraband out of Lee Correctional Institution, was shot six times in his home.