McCORMICK (WRDW) – A South Carolina inmate has been sentenced to 15 additional years in prison for throwing a cup of diarrhea at a prison guard.
Donald Harper Jr., 35, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to throwing bodily fluids on a correctional officer.
A judge sentenced him to an additional 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence.
In 2015, Harper shot and killed a Benedict College instructor in Columbia, South Carolina. For that crime, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
On the evening of Jan. 11, 2025, a correctional officer was delivering meals to inmates inside Harper’s dormitory at the McCormick prison.
As the officer handed Harper his dinner, Harper threw a cup of diarrhea directly into the officer’s face.
The fecal matter struck the officer in the eyes and mouth, so he required immediate medical treatment and continued monitoring for potential infectious diseases.
During sentencing, Assistant Solicitor Doug Fender asked the judge for the maximum penalty, citing Harper’s lengthy criminal history in Richland County as well as his extensive disciplinary record while incarcerated with the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Harper’s criminal history in Richland County includes breach of peace and second-degree burglary, voluntary manslaughter, pointing and presenting a firearm, and armed robbery.
Before this week’s guilty plea, Harper was projected to be released from prison in 2036.
However, the judge ordered that Harper’s 15-year sentence for throwing diarrhea at the guard be served after his current sentence ends.
That means Harper is now expected to be released in 2051.
He remains in the McCormick prison.
By EMILY VAN DE RIET and the WRDW Staff
