COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has filed a motion to unseal the records related to the early release of a convicted murderer.
In 2003, Jeriod Price was convicted of the December 6, 2002, murder of Carl Smalls, a student at University of North Carolina, at a nightclub in Columbia. At that time, Price admitted he was a member of a gang.
Price was found guilty of murder and sentenced 35 years to life and, under South Carolina law, needed to serve a mandatory minimum of 30 years before being considered for parole. Court documents were filed in 2006 by Price's defense team to appeal the sentence.
Price was released around March 15 of this year, well before the 30 year minimum sentence -- and the court records were sealed. Neither the Attorney General's Office, who is handling the post-conviction appeal of the sentence, nor the victim's family was notified of Price's early release.
Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson said his office had been in discussions with Price's defense about possibly reducing his sentence under a provision that says it can be lowered if that person provides substantial assistance to law enforcement. Gipson said his office looked at the information Price gave, and determined that it would be appropriate to file a motion for a hearing that would be to decide if Price deserve a sentence reduction.
Gipson, though, said that motion was never filed because the order from the judge releasing Price from prison had already been handed down.
Gipson says he believes the victims should have had a chance to be at a hearing and voice their position and is requesting that this matter be reopened by the court "in order to ensure that all statuary rights and procedures are followed correctly."
Price had been serving time in a New Mexico prison as part the Interstate Corrections Compact, according to South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesperson Chrysti Shain. The Interstate Corrections Compact involves 38 states and the District of Columbia and allows transfer of prisoners from one state to another for a variety of reasons.
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