Convicted SC killer released early should be back in prison, AG says, seeking bench warrant

A convicted South Carolina killer who was released from prison nearly 16 years early should be back in prison, Attorney General Alan Wilson said Thursday, asking that the S.C. Supreme Court issue a bench warrant to put Jaroid Price back behind bars.

The request came the same day the state’s high court issued an order, signed by all five justices, saying Price’s sealed court order signed by now-retired Judge Casey Manning, which released him from prison, can be unsealed and made public.

Price, who was serving a 35-year sentence for murder in the 2002 death of Carl Smalls, was released nearly 16 years early in mid-March under Manning’s order. Smalls, originally a defensive lineman on the University of South Carolina football team, had recently transferred to the University of North Carolina when he was shot and killed during a fraternity party at the VooDoo Club in Columbia.

“Last evening (Wednesday), (5th Circuit) Solicitor (Byron) Gipson released a statement confirming proper procedure did not happen in the release of Jeroid Price. While we are still unsure about several circumstances surrounding his release, we are certain Judge Manning’s order is void,” Wilson’s office wrote in its request to the Supreme Court Thursday.

In Gipson’s statement, he said the state can ask a circuit court judge to consider a sentence reduction for an inmate who has provided “substantial assistance” to law enforcement. It’s currently unknown what “substantial assistance” Price may have provided.

In December 2022, Gipson said his office participated in talks with Price’s attorney, state Rep. Todd Rutherford, and the court, and, after evaluating Price’s “assistance,” Gipson’s office decided it would be appropriate to file a motion asking for a formal hearing to decide how much, if any, of Price’s sentence should be reduced.

But an official motion to reduce was never filed by the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office because the judge’s order was issued before it could be filed, Gipson said. There was no formal hearing where Smalls’ family could voice their position on the order.

“For those reasons, I am requesting that this matter be reopened by the Court in order to ensure that all statutory rights and procedures are followed correctly. An open hearing will ensure that all parties have their statutorily guaranteed right to be heard and that all information related to this matter can be placed on the record before the Court,” Gipson said in his statement.

There are measures in both state and federal courts that allow inmates to be released early, or get a reduced sentence, if they provide substantial assistance to law enforcement, several Columbia-area lawyers have told The State.

But critics of Price’s early release say his case it is questionable because of several factors, including the large number of years cut from Price’s sentence, the violent murder itself, the public outrage from law enforcement and the lack of notification to the victim’s family.

The Smalls family told The State newspaper Tuesday that they had not heard from the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. They said they were informed of Price’s release by a victim’s advocate just hours before receiving a robocall notifying them that their son’s killer had been released.

Wilson’s office said Price should be returned to prison because South Carolina law requires that anyone convicted of murder must serve a minimum of 30 years and are not eligible for any credit that would reduce the sentence below that minimum.

Additionally, Wilson argued that Gipson’s office failed to follow the correct procedure to reduce the sentence of a convicted inmate who provided “substantial assistance” when they did not file a motion seeking a hearing.

“Without the triggering elements of the statute, there is no jurisdiction to alter a valid sentence by a circuit court judge,” the Wilson’s office wrote in the motion.

“He absolutely should not have been released from prison, and we need to get him back behind bars as quickly as possible,” Wilson wrote in a statement.

Rutherford was not immediately available for comment.

This story may be updated.