COLUMBIA, S.C. — Unsealed information just released shares why convicted killer Jeroid Price was released 16 years before the end of his minimum sentence. But the family of his victim, Carl Smalls, is now speaking out.
“We just celebrated 20 years of his death and a couple months afterward now we’re hearing that he’s free," she said.
Andrianne Smalls is still mourning the life of her brother Carl 20 years later. Jeroid Price was convicted of his murder in 2003 following a shooting at a Columbia nightclub the year before.
Price was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison, but he was released in March of this year in a deal that has only recently been made public.
Newly released information shows Price intervened during two different altercations between inmates and corrections officers at the Lieber Correctional Institution, reportedly saving the officers' lives.
Released records state he also assisted the South Carolina Department of Corrections by letting them know that another inmate had escaped.
These incidents were brought to a judge and Price was able to get released 16 years before serving the minimum sentence. News19 spoke with a criminal justice attorney who had no ties to the case for some perspective regarding this case. He spoke before the sentence reduction details were unsealed.
"Substantial assistance really means you're able to help the government put away a bad guy other than yourself," attorney Derek Shoemake said. "If you are able to help the government put away a bad guy, that's often determined to be substantial assistance."
Regardless, it's unwelcome news for the Smalls family.
“That kind leaves us in the upward because we don’t know where he’s at, what are his intentions," Andrianne Smalls said. "We don’t know anything."
Now the attorney general has requested a bench warrant for Price's arrest. The Smalls family is urging Price to finish his time.
“Just finish up your 16 years that you have and be done, and we’ll go from there," she said. "But this right here is not fair."