Governor McMaster is now getting involved in the ongoing saga concerning a convicted killer being released from prison ,16 years early. As we previously reported, a secret order signed by Judge Casey Manning, in cooperation with 5 Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson that set Jeroid Price free has been unsealed.
Price was convicted of murdering former Gamecock Football player Carl Smalls in 2003. The release was granted due to Price working to help law enforcement while he was incarcerated.
Now, Governor McMaster is calling for a review by the State Department of Corrections, to see if judges have issued similar orders for the early release of other inmates. There's been much opposition to Price's release and many are clamoring to keep members of the General Assembly who are lawyers off of the Judicial Screening Committee.
Statehouse Minority Leader Todd Rutherford is a criminal defense attorney and he helped make the Price deal possible. Rutherford is one of six lawmakers who are lawyers that sit on the 10 member Judicial Selection Committee.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson is calling for Price's release to be overturned and for him to be sent back to prison.
