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The South Carolina Supreme Court is vacating the order that released a convicted killer years before his sentence was up.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Supreme Court is vacating the order that released a convicted killer years before his sentence was up.

In a 3-2 decision, the court voted to void Judge Casey Manning’s order to release Jeroid Price, which means Price is ordered to go back to prison.

At the Wednesday hearing, justices, while concerned about the secrecy of the process, pressed both sides about its legal authority to reverse the ruling.

“We’re looking for you to give us something, some authority to do what you’re asking us to do,” Chief Justice Donald Beatty said to Attorney General Alan Wilson. “All you’re doing is saying this is a bad thing. Do something about it. This is a mess that y’all made then you’re asking us to clean it up without giving us grounds to clean it up.”

“The state failed in this process, " Wilson says. “We don’t think there should be an ability in the law for individuals like the judge, a defense attorney and a solicitor or an attorney general, myself included, should never be able to consent or enter into a secret agreement that violates the law and denies people their constitutional rights.”

Justice John Cannon Few also agreed it was something the court was “struggling with.”

Nonetheless, the majority sided with the state and reversed the order.

State Rep. Todd Rutherford, Price’s lawyer, argued that the deal struck between him, Judge Casey Manning and 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson did not require a hearing.

Before the court, Rutherford argued sending Price back to prison was essentially a death sentence because of his cooperation with the Department of Corrections to alert them of a dangerous, escaped inmate.

He says the order was sealed in order to protect his identity.

“The reason why 17-25-65 was passed in the first place was to encourage cooperation,” Rutherford says. “We do exactly the opposite when we reveal the identity of people that cooperate and they put their lives in jeopardy and we place them back into the Department of Corrections.”

Rutherford also denied that Price was a gang leader for the Bloods.

“That was a story crafted by someone inside the Department of Corrections with absolutely no evidence whatsoever,” he says. “Even the evidence presented at trial was not valid enough to say that he was a gang member.”

Reacting to the vote, Solicitor David Pascoe, who was the prosecutor of the original case, says “Justice has been done today” and was impressed by the Supreme Court’s “swift actions” in this case.

Wilson also reacted similarly to Wednesday’s ruling.

“Secret orders and backroom deals have no place in our justice system,” Wilson says. “I hope this sends a clear message to the people of South Carolina: our procedures matter and no one is above the law.”

There is no official word on where Price is right now.

When asked about his whereabouts, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott remarked it is like “starting from scratch.”

Wilson originally asked the Supreme Court to void the order because he argues the order reducing Price’s sentence is based on no motion being made by the solicitor for a sentence reduction. Wilson cites a section in South Carolina law requiring a motion be filed to the chief judge of the circuit where the case was first tried.

Carl “Dash” Smalls Jr., a West Ashley native and former University of South and North Carolina football player, was gunned down in a 2002 nightclub shooting in Columbia.

Price was convicted the following year and sentenced to 35 years in prison. But Price was suddenly released in March by Judge Manning who ordered the order sealed.

Wilson filed a motion to have that order unsealed, claiming “proper procedure” did not happen in Price’s release.

A release from Solicitor Gipson on April 19 states that the motion for Price’s release was never filed. In the release, Gipson says meetings were held with the defense and the judge to discuss filing the motion, but Price was released before such a motion was filed.

In a response filed by Rutherford, he said that an oral motion was made by Gipson requesting a sentence reduction in late 2022 during a meeting in the chambers of Judge Manning.

Court documents state the defense provided Gipson with a draft of an order to reduce Price’s sentence on Dec. 15, 2022. A final version of the motion was submitted to Manning on Dec. 30, 2022, outside of the presence of Price or his attorneys, and signed the same day, court documents state.

Rutherford’s filing states the statute cited by Wilson does not require out of concern for the safety of the person providing assistance to law enforcement and deter others from providing information.

Rutherford’s filing alleges a hearing and written motion are not required for the order to be valid.

“Therefore, because the statute does not require a hearing and does not require the filing of a written motion, Solicitor Gipson’s failures do not deprive the Court of jurisdiction, and the Order is valid,” court documents state.

The South Carolina Supreme Court unsealed the release order on April 20. The order, along with additional supporting documents that were not made public, state Price helped the Department of Corrections by putting them “on notice” about a dangerous inmate who had escaped. That inmate, Jimmy Lee Causey, escaped from the Lieber Correctional Institute in July 2017 and was captured days later in Texas.

READ MORE: Docs: Convicted killer put correctional agency on ‘notice’ about escaped inmate

But Department of Corrections spokesperson Chrysi Shain says Price did not notify the agency directly. Instead, he told someone outside of the prison about Causey’s escape, and that person told the agency about 18 hours after the escape happened.

Documents also included two affidavits written by an employee and former inmate at Lieber vouching for Price’s good deeds in prison. Among the good deeds were a 2010 incident in which Price reportedly tackled a fellow inmate who was attempting to attack a detention officer and another incident in which Price and a second inmate broke up a fight in which several inmates were attacking another detention officer. The other inmate who helped, Larry Benjamin, said he was awarded parole after that incident but Price was not.

South Carolina Department of Corrections records stated that despite the good behavior, he also had several disciplinary sanctions issued against him. At the time he was released, Price was in a New Mexico prison, which Pascoe alleged was proof of his “horrendous record.”

While state law does require convicted killers to serve 30 years in prison, there is also another law that allows for reduced sentencing for an inmate who assists authorities. The help led the solicitor’s office to file a motion for a formal sentence reduction hearing for Price. Before that hearing could ever happen, Gipson claims an order was issued, which led to Price’s release.

Family of victim demands action

Dash’s parents, Lillie and Carl Smalls, joined a group of solicitors, sheriffs and lawmakers at the State House lobby Tuesday asking for the General Assembly to take up a judicial reform package.

READ MORE: Victim’s family demands action after convicted murderer’s secret release

“This was a secret, secret deal and unlawful act,” Carl Smalls said Tuesday. “We’re here today to put a face on injustice and you’re looking at it, injustice.”

Solicitor David Pascoe, who was the prosecutor of the original case, said the attorney representing Price in the sentence reduction is a lawyer-legislator and a member of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee, which selects candidates to run for judicial office.

“Every single solicitor in this state supports the judicial reform that has been put up by these legislators. Think about that,” Pascoe said. “Democrats, Republicans, men, women, black and white, every single solicitor supports this legislation.”

READ MORE: Charleston family ‘devasted’ after son’s killer gets early release from prison

Rep. Joe White (R-Newberry) introduced one of two House bills that would not eliminate the committee but rather change who can serve on it and how its members are selected. Under White’s bill, H.4183, six of the members of the committee would be appointed by the governor, two would be appointed by the House and two by the Senate. None of the appointees could be lawyer-legislators.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Provalus' Newest Operation Will Bring Over 100 New Tech Jobs to Clarendon County

MANNING, S.C., Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

WHEN: August 18, 2022, 11am

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PARTICIPANTS: Secretary of Commerce, Harry M Lightsey, III, Chair of County Council, Dwight L. Stewart, Jr., Representative Kimberly O. Johnson, House District 64, Mayor Julia Nelson, Community Leaders of Clarendon County, South Carolina Community and Provalus President Laura Chevalier as well as Provalus Vice President of Facilities, Will Ruzic.

WHERE: 34 N. Brooke Street, Manning, SC 29102

Provalus, the managed services brand of Optomi Professional Services, will celebrate the opening of its third technology innovation center in Manning, South Carolina on August 18th with a ribbon cutting ceremony. After two years in a temporary space, the team is grateful for the collaboration and hard work to secure a permanent location in Manning. The downtown facility will provide new business and technology jobs to Clarendon County.

The Central SC Alliance members, Manning Mayor Julia A. Nelson and state and community officials will be recognized for their support of the project, which is projected to have a multi-million dollar economic impact on the local community over the next five years.

The proximity of this technology innovation center to the Optomi Professional Services office in Charlotte, NC increases opportunity for Provalus to provide outsourced managed services to the robust client base of the area. Provalus specializes in Professional Services including Business Process Optimization, Infrastructure Operations (HD, IAM, NOC, SOC) and Application & ITO Support.

Provalus is elevating under-employed individuals by providing technology, business and support positions to undiscovered talent in the U.S. By up-skilling local American talent, Provalus is able to provide Fortune-listed companies with the dependable, quality, and practical services they need.

"The opening of our newest technology center in Manning is the next step in our ongoing mission to bring jobs back to the U.S., especially to rural areas," says Laura Chevalier, President of Provalus. "We want to thank all involved for facilitating the process of making this facility a reality in Manning. The revitalization of this 1919 building is a great step toward rejuvenating the business in town. The local economic growth will be substantial. We believe services that have been traditionally outsourced overseas can be delivered better right here from the U.S. Manning is an ideal town for us to achieve this goal. We look forward to working with the Clarendon County community to develop and employ local individuals to deliver IT solutions."

For its new technology innovation center in downtown Manning, Provalus has renovated the Belk Building, a two-story red brick building built in 1919 that was the first shopping mall in Clarendon County. Located at 34 N. Brooke Street, the previously vacant building is the largest storefront in the main business section of downtown Manning and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Provalus already employs dozens of people in Manning. Individuals interested in joining the Provalus team should visit provalus.com/apply.

ABOUT THE PROVALUS BRAND OF OPTOMI PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

We hire and develop the best and brightest undiscovered talent in our small towns and rural communities to deliver a remarkable experience for our technology clients and end-users alike. Provalus offers ITO, BPO and Support services that compete head-on with offshore outsourcing. By creating opportunities where there were none; with companies that believe in America's future, Provalus is generating a superior workforce. We provide Fortune-listed companies the dependable, quality and practical services they need... straight from the heart of America. We are purposefully disruptive... PROVIDING OUTSOURCING VALUE FROM THE U.S.

FURTHER INFORMATIONChristen Black, CMO of Optomi Professional Services678-250-0820342504@email4pr.comwww.provalus.com

SOURCE Provalus

COLUMBIA — Prison inmates with the South Carolina Department of Corrections on the last legs of their sentences are getting a leg up in the job market from a national roofing company.

GAF Materials Corporation’s roofing academy certifies students after a weeklong course. On April 27, the company wrapped one of those courses for 16 inmates at Manning Correctional Institute in Columbia, a DOC facility used for job training ahead of the inmates’ release.

“You don’t have to have a college degree, you don’t have to have anything extra,” said Jay McCord, who runs the GAF academy in several states. Of the inmates, McCord said, “They deserve, just like us, to have an opportunity to better themselves.”

Commercial roofers and contractors are struggling to find workers, McCord said, and they’re willing to hire people right out of a weeklong course so long as they’re willing to keep learning. Once people graduate from the program, they’re given job opportunities and placement options in or near wherever they’d like to go, and coached through the application and interview process.

This is the second time GAF has worked inside an South Carolina prison — the first was in October 2022. McCord said the company’s goal is to teach a course at Manning, a minimum security prison, every six months. Inmates taking the course typically have about two to three months left on their sentences.

DOC Director Bryan Stirling credited work release programs like the GAF course with lowering the state’s prison recidivism rate to the lowest in the country at roughly 18 percent.

“I would ask people to give these folks a second chance,” Stirling said, adding that he’s spoken with commercial roofers in the state, who have all been impressed with how quickly and willingly inmates learned the trade.

“They want to not come back to prison, and to be there for their families.”

McCord said hesitancy about working with inmates exists, and he was a bit hesitant himself at first, but the attitudes the inmates brought to the class changed his mind quickly.

Most of the courses he teaches are not in correctional facilities, but he referred to the S.C. inmates as “the hungriest people I teach, who just want to work and just want to learn.” They’ll range from men in their mid-20s to men in their 60s, he said.

McCord also said the Cayce-based Aqua Seal Manufacturing and Roofing helped to kickstart the roofing academy for South Carolina inmates. Four people from his previous course applied for jobs with Aqua Seal and all of them now work for the company, he said.

One 42-year-old inmate from Kershaw County said he was excited about the opportunity to get a job in construction, especially after 15 years of incarceration. He was a commercial painter before he was sentenced, and even though students can be placed in many communities ranging from Texas to New Jersey to California, he wants to stay in South Carolina when he’s released, he said.

“It has given guys like me a leg up so that we can hit the ground running,” the inmate, named George, said about the program. He said he’s also received forklift and carpentry training during his time at Manning. Asked why he chose roofing and construction, he said, “the field is wide open.”

The Manning facility, on Beckman Drive on Columbia’s northeast side, has been used for work reentry programs since 2016. Outside of the roofing program, inmates have the opportunity to learn carpentry, welding, plumbing, brick masonry and auto mechanics, Stirling said.

Though GAF teaches courses at a men’s facility, Stirling said inmates at Camille Graham Correctional Institute, the women’s prison on Broad River Road, are not without work reentry programs. He said they have the opportunity to learn and receive certificates in some of the same trades like welding or computer coding.

Stirling also said the goal is to get people jobs that pay at least $15 an hour, starting day one after release. He wants inmates set up with “not only a job, but a career,” he said.

DOC’s efforts to tackle recidivism rates are coming at a time when Richland County’s jail has had security and staffing issues, including a director charged with sexual harassment and two inmate stabbings in two days. They also come on the heels of a S.C. Supreme Court ruling that a convicted murderer, who was released 16 years early on a secret order, is going back to prison.

MANNING, S.C. (WIS) - Four Manning High School parents have been arrested after a large fight broke out between parents and students on school grounds.

The Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office said parents and children started engaging in what the agency described as a “brawl” in the school’s main lobby at around noon on Tuesday.

Four parents face public disorderly conduct charges, Ashley Brock, 30, Santana Butler, 37, Andrea Walters, 35, and Ebony Hilton, 39.

A physical altercation between parents at Manning High School leads to arrests. Video Provided to WIS.

“It’s really sad,” Lynn Robinson, a Manning High School grandparent, said. “I mean kids are going to get into it sometimes, but a lot of times they get that from home, the examples from home. And when the parents get into it also, it’s just getting sad. And it’s getting worse these days at all the schools with the shootings and stuff. You just don’t ever know what’s going to happen.”

An incident report states that a prior physical altercation between students led to the fight.

Per district protocol, the parents were notified about that fight.

When those parents arrived at the school to pick up their children, the situation escalated before School Resource Officers and school administration could intervene.

During the incident, both students and parents had to be separated, detained, and removed from the school, according to investigators.

The incident report states that when deputies arrived, they had to try to separate Brock and Hilton.

Two students then joined in, and one student punched Brock several times in the face.

“It doesn’t make any sense fighting in school,” Pastor Sampson Pearson, a former Manning High School parent, said. “School is for where you get your academic education, not for violence. We have enough of that in the street as it is.”

EMS responded to treat Hilton for her injuries.

As Brock was being escorted to a patrol car, Walters then tried to fight her, the incident report said.

Butler was arrested after she would not stop cursing and shouting, according to an incident report.

She too tried to fight another woman.

In addition to this large fight, two others involving students happened on Tuesday, according to the CCSO.

The juveniles were separated and transported to the CCSO where petitions to Family Court were completed and submitted to the Department of Juvenile Justice and released to their parents or guardians.

A total of five children were petitioned to family court for third-degree assault and battery.

Some members of the Manning High School community were shocked by this behavior.

“It sets a bad example for all the kids when they see their parents out there,” Robinson said.

Pearson said incidents like this do not reflect well on Clarendon County.

“There has to be some type of change for we can’t have that here in our school,” he said.

The Clarendon County School District sent WIS a statement on Wednesday regarding the incident.

It reads, “A physical altercation occurred at Manning High School on March 4, 2023, between two students. As protocol, parents were contacted. As parents were called to the school to pick up their students, an altercation between the parents ensued.

As with any student altercation, district policy was followed and the students have been disciplined for their role in the altercation.

Additionally, law enforcement is involved and an investigation has been conducted into the incident. Manning High School Administration handled the incident appropriately per district policy and the school returned to its normal schedule following the incident.

As always, the safety and well-being of our students are our top priority, and we do not tolerate any form of violence on our school grounds. We want to emphasize that this incident does not reflect the values of Manning High School or the Clarendon County School District as a whole. School administration takes all necessary steps to ensure appropriate disciplinary action is taken in any situation that disrupts the learning environment. We remain committed to creating a safe learning environment for all students.”

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Winds blew through the front windows of a business, hospitalizing two employees.

MANNING, S.C. — A storm Sunday afternoon caused damage to homes and businesses in Manning, South Carolina.

The weather brought with it scary moments for Richard Johnson as he worked at the Dollar General in Manning when strong winds came rolling through. He was in the store with his manager and another customer at the time.

"She was locking the door but she couldn't, like, keep the door closed," Johnson said. "So, she locked the door and, then, we all rushed back to the back office and then we waited there for ten, maybe 15 minutes."

According to Manning Mayor Julia Nelson, high winds resulted in the hospitalization of two employees inside the Advanced Auto Parts store.

"We recently learned that the wind actually picked them up and threw them in the back of the aisle [of] the store," she said. "So, they've been checked out and appear to be in good health."

Though one employee declined an interview, she said it was a terrifying ordeal and is thanking God she was able to walk out.

That area got a direct hit from the storm's winds, with damage to an IGA and a furniture store that had to put trash cans out for ceiling leaks.

Across the street, a large sign was knocked down. Thankfully no one was in the stores at the time, the owner said, and it shouldn't be hard to get a replacement.

A short drive from the shopping center, J.C. Britton Community Park was also hit with flood lights thrown to the ground, trash cans spread throughout the field, and aluminum bleachers turned upside down.

In the neighborhood next to the park, the damage wasn't as drastic, with some branches and limbs scattered in the road. Mayor Nelson said people should be on the lookout for any lingering damage to their homes.

"If they, of course, smell something, electricity or whatever, they of course want to call 911," she said. "Other than that, we suggest they contact their homeowner's insurance company to go ahead and file a claim."

By the early afternoon, crews were back on the scene by Advanced Autoparts. And the IGA store was able to reopen.