Inmates sentenced to nearly 20 years solitary confinement for making music video

An inmate in South Carolina. (Associated Press)

Seven South Carolina inmates are serving solitary confinement for a viral video they filmed inside the South Carolina's Kershaw Correctional Institution.

The video was recorded in 2014 and uploaded to World Star Hip-Hop where it went viral.

Stephanie Givens, communications director for the SCDC, told The Independent that the inmates were sanctioned for their use of a contraband cell phone, social media and that they are "validated members of security threat groups."

Dave Maass, a researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, uncovered the public documents showing seven inmates would spend nearly 1,000 days each in solitary (a total of 7,150 days or 19.75 years).

Mr Maass told the New York Daily News that prison officials likely gave the harsh sentence because they were embarassed by the video.

"It doesn't help the prison at all if they're filling up disciplinary detention with social media violators. It was a work of art, not an act of violence."

Ms Givens would later clarify that five of the seven inmates are no longer in disciplinary detention but did not disclose when were they released. Two inmates remain in solitary but are currently under administrative review.

"Security threat groups are problematic for the safety and security of an institution to include staff and other inmates," she said, adding that the SCDC implemented a new disciplinary policy in February of 2015 that caps disciplinary detention at 60 days.

The inmates were sanctioned for the video prior to the new policies.