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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- An attorney says mentally ill inmates are falling through the cracks of South Carolina's prison system.

Dan Westbrook said in closing arguments Friday that state officials underestimate the number of mentally ill inmates. Westbrook also said conditions in the isolation cells are inhumane and he described the death of an inmate at Lee Correctional Institution.

Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities sued the Corrections Department in 2005, saying that mentally ill inmates were not given enough access to psychiatric care. The group estimates nearly 20 percent of South Carolina's prison inmates are mentally ill.

Corrections officials deny claims that mentally ill inmates' constitutional rights have been violated.

Judge Michael Baxley began hearing testimony in the case last month. It could be several weeks before he issues his ruling.

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