Gov. McMaster wants to know how many killers SC judges secretly release from prison

Gov. Henry McMaster has stepped into the controversy involving the secret judge’s order that led to the release of convicted killer Jeroid Price 16 years before his sentence was finished, underscoring high public interest in a case that affects every major part of South Carolina’s criminal justice system — judges, prosecutors, victims, violent crime and prisons.

In a letter written Tuesday to S.C. Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, McMaster said he wanted to know just how many violent criminals are secretly released every year from the state’s prison system.

The governor also made it clear he finds Price’s release repugnant to widely held ideals of law and order.

“The early and unsupervised release of this inmate under the circumstances, particularly without SCDC’s awareness or input, was seemingly contrary to law and obviously at odds with common sense,” McMaster, who is a former U.S. Attorney for South Carolina and state attorney general, wrote.

“Because this matter not only threatens public safety but also implicates the public’s confidence in the judicial system and the Rule of Law, I write to request assistance from the South Carolina Department of Corrections (‘SCDC”) in attempting to determine whether this is an isolated incident, and if not, to identify any other similar early release orders,” McMaster wrote.

A Department of Corrections spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon about McMaster’s request for numbers of inmates that have been secretly released, “We are reviewing our records now to determine an answer.”

Last week, prison officials told The State that when they received an order from now-retired Judge Casey Manning ordering that Price be let out of prison, they had no choice but to comply.

Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson had requested that Manning sign the order after talking with Price’s lawyer, state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, who said Price had done a number of good deeds that saved lives while in prison and deserved to have 16 years lopped off his sentence. No hearing was held, and no one was notified about Gipson’s, Rutherford’s and Manning’s actions.

Price’s non-publicized release from prison in mid-March was disclosed on April 17 by 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, hours after he got a phone call from Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Stan Smith about the release. In 2003, at Price’s murder trial, Smith was the lead investigator and Pascoe was the assistant prosecutor who convinced a jury to find Price guilty of murder in the shooting death of Carl Smalls Jr. at a Columbia nightclub in 2002. Pascoe immediately alerted the news media, Attorney General Alan Wilson and others about Price’s release.

In his letter, McMaster also said state law does not allow judges to grant “covert clemency” and said Price’s release goes against state law in other ways:

▪ The “clandestine release” of Price did not conform to the state’s Victims’ Bill of Rights, which “requires that victims be notified of, and allowed to appear or be heard at, any post-conviction or release-related proceedings.”

▪ The court’s sealed order and nonpublic proceedings are at odds with the state constitutional provision requiring open courts.

▪ Price was given a mandatory sentence of 35 years, and letting him out after he only served 19 years “appears to violate” a state law concerning the punishment for murder — that anyone convicted of murder must be punished “by death, or by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years to life.”

▪ The court’s action is in conflict with another state law that no person sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment is eligible for any kind of parole or early release program or any other program that would reduce the mandatory minimum term.

McMaster said the circumstances associated with Price’s release “defy logic. It is axiomatic that to enhance deterrence and accountability, the State must vigorously investigate crimes and promptly prosecute those who commit them. Convicting and incarcerating criminal defendants is a core function of government that reflects the State’s responsibility to seek justice for victims and survivors and to protect the people.

“As such, both this solemn obligation and common sense demand truth and transparency, not secrecy, in sentencing,” McMaster wrote.

On Wednesday at noon, the State Supreme Court will hear arguments concerning Price’s release. Rutherford is expected to argue that Price should stay free. The Attorney General’s Office is expected to say that Price’s release was unlawful in numerous ways and he should be arrested and sent back to prison.