COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court has vacated an order releasing a convicted murderer early from prison, siding with the state that he man never should have been set free.
The justices issued a 3-2 ruling Wednesday calling for Jeroid Price to be returned to prison to serve the rest of his sentence. The court did not elaborate on their decision but said they would issue a lengthier written opinion on their ruling in the near future. Justices John Kittredge, John Few, and Garrison Hill were in the majority, with Chief Justice John Beatty and George James Jr. in dissent.
The ruling came just hours after justices heard oral arguments from the state attorney general's office and Price's defense attorney regarding his release.
"We’re pleased the Court heard our request with such urgency and agreed that Jeroid Price’s release was unlawful and that he should be remanded back to the Department of Corrections immediately," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said.
Price was convicted of murdering college student Carl Smalls at a Columbia nightclub in 2002. He was sentenced to a term of 35 years to life with no chance of parole until he served 30 years of the sentence. However, Price was released from prison in mid-March 2023 and the records in the case were sealed.
After the decision came to light earlier this month, however, Wilson and others raised objections as to how the early release could have happened. The State Supreme Court last week unsealed the order freeing Price.
Price's attorney said he'd asked the judge and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's office for a reduced sentence for their client. Court documents provided by his attorneys documented incidents where Price either aided the Department of Corrections or potentially saved lives and where he alerted people of a prisoner escape.
There is a provision of state law that allows for early release for prisoners who provide substantial aid to prosecutors or law enforcement. However, Wilson said that doesn't trump state law which mandates a mandatory sentence of 30 years for anyone who gets a sentence of 30 years or more.
On Tuesday, Smalls' family joined state prosecutors, a host of lawmakers and law enforcement officials in a call for judicial reform in the wake of the case.
“Our main goal is we don’t want another family to go through this again," said the victim's father, Carl Smalls.
