COLUMBIA, S.C. — The legal justice system here in South Carolina and across the United States exists to lock up criminals and release them after they're done serving their sentence. But there are rules and laws in place that help shape the timing of these releases.
The issue has come up as a matter of debate after the early release of Jeroid Price, a man convicted of murder in 2023. He was released from prison in March of 2023
There are several reasons a judge could consider releasing an inmate early: Including routine requests to reduce sentences, correcting errors in sentencing and health concerns.
One such reason is found in South Carolina Code 17-25-65. It allows prosecutors to seek a reduction in a defendant's sentence if they've provided substantial assistance to the state.
In most cases, that means they've provided information that can help convict others who've committed more severe crimes, or who've saved the life of a prison employee.
"Anytime you're reducing a sentence, you're helping prosecute one person, but you're also reducing the sentence handed down to another, so there's absolutely a balance and that's the most important thing about the system. It's not about giving people who've committed crimes a benefit, it is about balancing the need to prosecute really bad people with the need to incentivize that cooperation," Derek Shoemake, former federal prosecutor said.
Derek Shoemake is a current criminal defense attorney working in Lugoff, SC. He explains there's a Victim's Right Act which reads that victims of crime or their families must be notified of hearings for sentence reductions.
The Department of Corrections recently gave Governor McMaster a report on how many sentence reductions have been done since the start of last year. It's a 77-page report.
"I was a prosecutor for about half a decade and I would say 80% of my cases involved people, other criminals telling on the criminals I was prosecuting. I think people would be surprised how often we're able to get bad guys off the streets because of people who are serving prison sentences or people who are facing prison sentences telling on those people," Shoemake said.
There are other considerations, including a man convicted of kidnapping and assault with intent to kill having a sentenced reduced from life to 30 years, because the co-defendant was already released from jail and no one was physically harmed.
In another case, a drug trafficking convict who developed diabetes and cancer was released after serving 20 years because of no disciplinary violations.
According to criminal defense attorney Dayne Phillips, judges typically review several factors before taking action.
"It would be all the facts of what substantial assistance was provided, how much information, how helpful it was, how much at risk the defendant put themselves at in providing that information or assisting law enforcement," Phillips said.
Phillips also explains it's fairly rare for circuit solicitors to file for a hearing related to substantial assistance sentence reductions in serious felony victim cases.