A Public at Risk
A look at South Carolina's broken probation and parole system
By Doug Pardue , Glenn Smith
The Georgetown Times
Georgetown County Sheriff Lane Cribb (right) works at the scene of Julianne Blakeley's killing in Litchfield Beach on Sept. 26, 2007. Police later arrested Shane Earl Lawshe, a convicted felon released on parole two months earlier, for the crime. Editor's note: Earlier published versions of this photo misspelled Cribb's first name. The Post and Courier regrets the error.
Julianne Blakeley did what many do when they need their homes painted. She hired a contractor. And, as with most homeowners, she knew almost nothing about the painters she invited in.
On the morning of Sept. 26, firefighters rushed to Blakeley's Litchfield Beach home after neighbors saw smoke coming from the house. They found the 63-year-old woman dead, partially clothed in her bed. She had been stabbed in the neck and raped. Fires were set in several places.
A week later, police arrested Shane Earl Lawshe, a 33-year-old convicted felon with a record of assault and burglary. Just two months earlier, state officials released him on parole. It was the third time in five years he had been freed on probation or parole in connection with a series of crimes, a string prosecutors characterize as an upward spiral of danger.
Blakeley's killing sent shock waves through her community, but it was no anomaly. Criminals free on probation or parole kill, rob and rape all too often in a state where repeat offenders routinely are released into a system that is too under-manned and ill-equipped to maintain control.
Take the case of Derringer Lamont Young, 22, who faced a possible 30-year prison term after he shot and wounded a man during a 2004 robbery in downtown Charleston. Instead, a judge sentenced him as a youthful offender and he spent just one year in prison before he was released on parole. Soon after, he violated the terms of his release and went back to prison, only to be paroled again.
One week after his November 2007 release, Young was accused of messing up again — this time with deadly consequences. Witnesses said he showed up at a North Charleston club on Thanksgiving morning, pulled out a gun and opened fire on two men, killing one and wounding the other.
"Why was this guy even on the street?" North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt said. But Zumalt hardly was shocked. Nearly a third of the homicides in North Charleston are committed by people on probation or parole.
"This group of repeat, violent offenders is really hurting us," he said. "We've got to do something about this."'
A public at risk
South Carolina established a probation and parole board in 1941. Though its titles and duties have changed over the years, its mission remains much the same: to supervise criminals and help them on a path toward rehabilitation.
Video
Probation - video from the Law and Disorder series
The daunting task of policing criminals on probation and parole.
State officials boast an overall 65 percent success rate for people completing their supervised release time without repeat criminal activity, but that leaves 35 percent who might continue to prey upon their communities.
Johnnie Walker Gaskins is one such example. The 27-year-old was accused of spraying gunfire inside a Columbia sports bar in February 2007, killing two people and wounding three others. Gaskins had a history of violent crimes and was on probation for drug charges when the shooting occurred, authorities said.
Or consider Kenneth Williams, 42, charged with beating an 81-year-old Port Royal man to death and stealing his wallet in September 2007 after he was hired to do yard work. Williams was on probation at the time, having been convicted of more than 10 charges since 1983, ranging from grand larceny to domestic violence to receiving stolen goods.
Or take Shannon McGee, 39, who sexually assaulted a child younger than 11 years of age in Georgetown County in 2005 while on probation for possessing a stolen weapon and driving under suspension. He had avoided prison time on those charges despite a lengthy record that included convictions for armed robbery and assault of a high and aggravated nature.
Those cases were among dozens identified by the The Post and Courier in an investigation that reveals a criminal justice system broken at every turn:
--The state lacks enough probation and parole agents to oversee more than 48,000 criminals. This load leaves some agents with more than 170 criminals to keep up with, more than double the recommended national average.
--Agents often don't have key resources necessary to do their jobs. In Spartanburg County, 20 agents must share just six cars to cover an 819-square-mile area with some 3,200 offenders. In Richland County, front-line agents recently had to turn in their state cell phones because there was no money to pay for them.
--Judges, faced with swollen dockets and overcrowded prisons, often allow probation violators to remain free instead of putting them behind bars. Between 2003 and 2007, fewer than half of the 64,970 criminals arrested for violating the terms of their release had their probation revoked by a judge.
Glossary of terms
PAROLE: An act of clemency that gives an inmate a conditional, early release from prison. Parole comes from a French word meaning "word of honor."
PROBATION: An alternative sentence to imprisonment that allows people convicted of crimes to remain free in the community under state supervision on the promise of good behavior. The word probation is derived from a Latin word meaning "to test or prove."
REVOCATION: The early termination of supervised release for a criminal who has violated the conditions of his release.
YOUTHFUL OFFENDER ACT: A state law allowing indeterminate sentences of up to six years for offenders ages 17 through 24. Roughly 150 young offenders are released each month to be supervised by probation and parole agents.
--Frustrated police end up arresting the same people over and over. In 2005, for example, Charleston County sent roughly the same number of people to prison as were released back into the community.
--Rehabilitation efforts with jail and prison inmates are virtually nonexistent because of budget cuts and belt-tightening. The state's Attorney General says prison provides too many inmates with a "PhD in crime."
--Criminals thumb their noses at a toothless system they've learned to manipulate. Many have been placed on probation or parole multiple times, despite shared histories of failing to live by the programs' rules.
--The most potentially violent criminals, those ages 17 to 24, often get the most lenient sentences under laws designed to give young offenders a second chance. The problem is that these criminals also have the highest failure rate in supervised release and often end up committing new, violent crimes.
Where they live
Click here to view a map showing where each of the nearly 3,900 freed on probation or parole lives. (PDF)
The problem is not new. Horror stories have made headlines for decades. Take the case of Sidney Ross Goolsby, who was on parole for two previous murders when he strangled a Columbia woman in 1978.
Or consider Doyle Lucas, who broke into a home and slaughtered a Rock Hill couple just hours after his parole in 1983.
Or Bobby Wayne Stone, a parolee who shot and killed a Sumter County sheriff's deputy in 1996 while on community supervision for burglary and grand larceny charges.
Despite such examples, the state has done little. The result: more crimes, more victims.
Problems nationwide
South Carolina is hardly alone. Innocent people across the country often pay the price when overwhelmed criminal justice officials allow the wrong criminals to go free on probation or parole with the hope they will go straight.
At the end of 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available, more than five million men and women were on probation or parole in the United States. Of those on probation, about one in five ended up back behind bars. Sixteen percent of those on parole also ended up re-incarcerated by year's end, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Periodically, the bureau tracks criminals who have been released from prison to study recidivism rates. The most recent study, published in 2002, found that more than two-thirds of prisoners released in 1994 were arrested within three years for a new offense. Most were picked up for felonies and serious misdemeanors, including some 2,900 new homicides.
Blakeley (center) was the mother of quadruplets Blake (from left), Katie and Clay Thornton, and Olivia Charney.
Perhaps the most infamous recent case is the March 5 slaying of Eve Carson, the 22-year-old student body president of the University of North Carolina. According to reports, two young men on probation for numerous burglary and theft charges abducted Carson from her apartment, withdrew money from her bank account and shot her dead on a street. Both face murder charges.
North Carolina officials blamed an untrained, overwhelmed probation officer who was supposed to be supervising one of the suspects while juggling 125 cases. The other suspect, officials say, got lost in the system as his case was assigned to 10 different agents. A federal report released last week found North Carolina's probation offices were struggling with heavy caseloads, high turnover and a host of other problems.
"This is a dark cloud over our agency," Robert Lee Guy, director of the state Division of Community Corrections, told reporters. "It's flat-out embarrassing. It's totally unacceptable by our standards — by any agency's standards."
Unfortunately, similar tragedies aren't hard to find.
In Largo, Md., a man on probation for drug offenses faces charges in a triple homicide at a pizza restaurant on Super Bowl Sunday.
In Louisville, Ky., a man on probation for drug and assault offenses is charged with a home invasion in which a man was shot fatally and a woman was wounded last year.
And in Cheshire, Conn., two paroled burglars who met in a halfway house are accused of taking a prominent doctor and his family hostage in the early hours of July 23, 2007. The pair reportedly strangled 48-year-old Jennifer Hawke-Petit after forcing her to withdraw money from her bank. She and her daughters, 17 and 11, were then doused in gasoline before their house was set on fire. The girls died of smoke inhalation. The lone survivor, Dr. William Petit, was beaten severely but escaped, authorities said.
Abolishing parole?
Many states have enacted comprehensive reforms designed to address the problem. Ironically, one of those is North Carolina, which abolished parole in 1994 and established sentencing guidelines that basically place the criminal in one of three levels of seriousness. The system was designed to lock up the violent criminals and try to work with the nonviolent through probation.
Georgetown County sheriff's deputies escort accused killer Shane Earl Lawshe to his bond hearing in October 2007. Lawshe's death penalty trial is tentatively set for March 2009, according to 15th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Fran Humphries.
Abolishing parole has produced mixed results there and around the country. Virginia, which did away with parole in 1994, credits the move with dropping the state's crime rate to a 30-year low.
Other states have not fared as well. Connecticut, for example, abolished parole in 1981 but brought it back 13 years later because the resulting increase in inmates led to early-release programs to alleviate prison overcrowding.
Still, Ronald F. Wright, a professor of law and associate dean at Wake Forest University, said abolishing parole remains the current trend among states for tackling systemic problems with criminal justice.
South Carolina's Attorney General, Henry McMaster, wants this state to join that movement. He would make anyone sentenced to prison serve a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence. Most nonviolent criminals would be handled by a new "middle court," which would allow them to go free under strict control of a judge, who could lock them up immediately for violating conditions.
South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal agrees the system needs some restructuring but doesn't agree with McMaster that the state should just take his idea and run with it. She wants a thorough review by a study commission, a move lawmakers approved this past session.
"We've got major problems with our sentencing structure and we have not looked at it in years," Toal said in a recent interview. She called the present system "a hodgepodge."
Others, including probation and parole agents, worry that McMaster's plan — or one like it — would become just another under-funded state program that adds to the burdens of South Carolina's prisons and those who monitor criminals in the community. They argue that the state should fix the system it has by adding more judges to hear cases and more agents to supervise those on probation and parole effectively.
AP
Eve Carson, student body president at the University of North Carolina, was found shot to death March 6 in Chapel Hill. According to reports, two young men on probation for numerous burglary and theft charges abducted Carson from her apartment, withdrew money from her bank account and shot her dead on a street. Both face murder charges.
Charleston County Public Defender Ashley Pennington said the probation and parole agency, through no fault of its own, is just treading water at present and has become almost a non-entity in helping offenders move beyond a life of crime. And this is just one example of how the state has made its criminal justice system more dangerous by failing to fund it properly, he said. "This has become a serious public safety issue," he said.
Gov. Mark Sanford's office said he wants state lawmakers to consider putting more resources into the state corrections system and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. From their comments, top legislative leaders seem to agree. But, so far, nothing much is getting done on the subject in Columbia.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, has pushed a variety of anti-crime measures, from adding more judges to allowing warrantless searches of criminals on probation and parole. He hopes those changes will come in the next session. But he knows it won't be easy, particularly getting the money in tight fiscal times.
"It makes no sense to me to have people out on probation and parole if there is not going to be an adequate check on them," McConnell said. "We simply have to put more resources into protecting the public."
Sadness, anger and questions
'It's just too easy for people on parole to fall through the cracks ... There are criminals out there running free and no one's paying attention,' Olivia Lee Charney (right, background), one of Julianne Blakeley's children, said.
Olivia Lee Charney, one of Julianne Blakeley's quadruplets, can't shake the numbness she feels from her mother's murder at the Litchfield Beach home last year.
"We're still processing the aftermath," she said from Weston, Conn., where she runs an interior design company. She said her family is going through "a lot of anger. There's a lot of sadness. We're all dealing with it differently."
She's certain of one thing: Something is seriously wrong with South Carolina's probation and parole system for allowing men such as the one accused of killing her mother to be free. "Obviously," she said, "it is a prime example ... I think there are a lot of weak links."
Then, Charney told a story about her brother's dog biting her daughter a while back. She recalled how an animal control officer in Weston kept coming by afterward, almost religiously, to make sure the dog was tested and everything was OK. "I was astounded by all of the attention and care," she said.
She compared that to what happened with the paroled convict awaiting trial in her mother's murder. "It was pretty ironic. We all marveled at that," she said of the attention the dog got compared with that of the suspect in her mother's killing.
"It's just too easy for people on parole to fall through the cracks ... There are criminals out there running free and no one's paying attention," she said.
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The Post and Courier
'Lost the will to live'
Pearl Savage can't bring herself to eat. Her nerves are too jangled, her appetite gone.
"I just sit here and feel like I've lost the will to live," she said.
It's been almost a year since Savage found her sister and nephew lying dead in the blood-soaked bedrooms of their North Charleston home. Those images never are far from her thoughts. After all, for months after the killing, she lived just a few yards away.
"I spend a great deal of time thinking about it," she said. "It was my baby sister and my nephew. Living right next door has been unbearable."
The man accused of killing Linda and Victor Griffitts is a career criminal who spent his life preying on others. But Larry Troglin Jr. never seemed to run out of second chances. Not after he stole from his grandmother. Not after he ran from police. Not after he robbed people.
Troglin was paroled from prison in 2006 after serving just one year of a five-year robbery sentence. He quickly violated the terms of his parole, skipped out on a work-release program and picked up a new crack-cocaine charge. The state's answer: probation and a trip back to the same work camp he walked away from in 2006.
He skipped out again and was on the run from probation agents when the Griffitts gave him a place to stay. They didn't know he was a wanted man. He just seemed like someone who needed help.
As Savage waits for Troglin to come to trial in the killings, she can't help but wonder why he received so many chances in the past. She hopes he will pay this time.
The Post and Courier
She'll never see him again
For Celestine Nelson the hardest thing to accept was that she'd never see her grandson again.
Jermaine Witfield (above), 19, was shot and killed, supposedly in retaliation for a fight. Police found Witfield on a November evening in 2007 lying on the front porch of a home on Madden Drive. Blood poured from a bullet wound in his head. Witnesses said a gunman standing in the open sun roof of a white station wagon fired two shots as the car drove by. Witfield died the next morning at Medical University Hospital.
Police charged Travis Deangelo Richardson, 20, and Recardo Antwon Richardson, 18, with murder. The older Richardson had a record of drug possession and criminal domestic assault and was awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery and assault. The younger had charges pending on drugs and possession of a stolen weapon.
Celestine Nelson said she thinks violent criminals should be locked up with no chance at parole or probation. But even if they are locked up, it's tough for her to accept, she said. "Their mother and grandmother can still see them. I can't see my grandson."
Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com. Reach Doug Pardue at 937-5558 or dpardue@postandcourier.com
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Oz (anonymous) says...
Beautiful lives traded for ugly murderous ones allowed to be set free by people that are not in touch with real life is the fact.
There should be punishment equal to the crime committed to avoid it from happening again and with little cost or burden to we the people. Instead we are burdened and we double and are triple charged and forced to pay with our lives or those of our loved ones to let a criminal go free.
I for one have had enough, the atonement for their crimes should be equal to their offense the first time.
Answer one question. What will you do to save the life of your wife, husband, child, mother or grandchild from being cut short? Now let your voice be heard and VOTE!
August 24, 2008 at 6:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JourneyOn (anonymous) says...
How about putting discipline back in the schools where children can learn from a very young age that there are consequences for their behavior? Without it, undisciplined children later become undisciplined adults. And, of course, discipline begins at home but for those who do not have discipline at home they would see how the rest of the world lives at school.
In the mean time, know that there is not a "system" out there to protect any of us. We also need to learn and know how to take precautions for ourselves.
Live peacefully,
August 24, 2008 at 7:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flygirl06 (anonymous) says...
Alot of people, including myself, read these horrible stories day after day. Who are the 'bad apples in the statehouse'? Those responsible should have their names front and center, let the public see just who they are. Come election time, people will remember NOT to vote for them. This state is an embarassment at how ridiculously it is run. So much money wasted!!
August 24, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
Overall, violent criminals take up less than half of the prison space.
In the fed system it is < 1/4 I believe.I'll look it up & correct myself if wrong.
In the state systems there are more violent criminals but they are not the overwhelming majority I do not believe.(I'll look this up to)
However, the incarceration rates keep rising. What does this say???
The jails are "overcrowded" w/ a lot of people who really do not need to be, & should not be, there. If there is not "enough room" to keep those who present physical danger to the rest of us, clearly the system needs to change.
The "war on drugs" & supporting laws need to change.
The "dead beat dad" policies of jailing them needs to change.
Do not throw non-violent poker players in jail.
Etc.
If these things changed, then we would not be worrying about prison space & letting violent criminals back on the street via parole.
These things will not be changed however.
Instead, the answer will be to build more jails, because that is where the money is. Like many things in today's society, it mostly boils down to a money game. As Gerry Spence calls it,"The New Green God". It really is not about truth justice & keeping us safe anymore.
August 24, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Deborrah (anonymous) says...
We have become a society that do not take recycling seriously. Someone will take care of it.
There is so many personality issues with the people that are allocating funds for public safety. Only God knows! Those same people probably have monetary gains from crime. Let's build more prison and keep them locked up! There is very little difference in how issues are addressed.
Let's find more places to get rid of our refuse. Put it on a barge and take a someplace else.
Keep the person locked up longer.
Unless we get to the root of the issue, it will keep causing us pain.
In the case of refuse, we need to recycle, reuse our disposables.
In the case of criminal, it is not the problem for someone else. It is time for God fearing individuals to change the direction of criminal element in society. Are there any successful rehabilitation programs for the criminal? Probably not. The first thing most people will tell you. Crime in like death and taxes! Yet taxes can be comfortable if planned for and death can be the beginning of a better existence if you have lived right. Bottomline: Lip service has to end. This is challenge for everyone in South Carolina.
August 24, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
People like habitual criminals are nothing but trash and deserve to be treat no different. What do you suggest be done with these animals? Why not invite these people into your house JohnQ and let them "date" your daughter if you think so highly of these pieces of trash. I could careless if they kill each other off in their own element but these animals think it ok to rape and murder decent people. I agree we should create a central dumping ground for this trash and be done with them.
August 24, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
Why spend tax-payer funds on 'keeping an eye' on these paroled criminals? Why not spend the funds on building larger prisons in order to eliminate parole and keep them where they belong in the first place?.
It seems to me that we are directing these funds to the wrong area in the criminal justice system. IF we already have these criminals in jail where an eye can be kept on them and prevent from killing innocents in society, then why the hell are we paroling them to do more evil deeds in society? (Actually, the prison time almost seems ridiculous--we feed them for a while, let them rest up while enjoying TV, ping pong (whatever), protect society from them for a while, so why not just have a judge release them at the bar and skip the prison phase where they will be released anyway.)
It appears much is broken in SC, elected officials, appointed officials, the educational system, justice system, to name just a few. (We all know what they are as we read about them daily. In fact many of the people involved in these problems deserve to be in prison.)
I guess I rambled a bit, but just a few thoughts that went through my mind as I was reading. And I don't
-even- want to think about 'an eye for an eye/turn the other cheek' issue.
August 24, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
BTW, very happy to see Glenn Smith reporting on this issue. He thoroughly covers issues.
August 24, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STREETLAW (anonymous) says...
Why all these social problems? I gave to animal helpers.
Churches which should be using their wealth to help find and cure the root causes instead of building their country club grade facilities and trying to preach in China where the powers to be have decided (probably from reading articles like this one) that religious nations don't have a lot to offer.
Which reminds me, do you know why most people in Beijing don't where shorts? Shy knees.
August 24, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waterbug (anonymous) says...
John doe is right on the money about aclu, but that other organization that hides their activities behind the church walls was inadvertantly omitted.
August 24, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
Drugs are the problem. From law enforcement's perspective it over-crowds the prisons, reducing needed space for violent criminals. From an individual's prespective it leaves the drug habit in place for when they're released. The war on drugs is a fialure. Its a medical problem and should be treated that way - like Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweeden and Denmark. Regulate and tax marajauna like alcohol.
August 24, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
Posted by Thomas1776 on August 24, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeff61 is a hypocrite who has made threats of bodily harm right here on this website.
Who have I threaten thomas and why do you make such posts. I would expect more from a reporter
August 24, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amholsclaw (anonymous) says...
There we go did anyone see the one were James Allen Pritchard was put in jail for trying to kill hes boss and girlfriend,He was also charged with the murder of hes common law wife Tina Laird 9yrs before,he was walking the streets all this time,I read this because I saw the part were it was a painter thought it was him,Thats what the police say we have to wait for him to do something to put him away and also a judge that wont let him back out,I have to wait for him to kill another hurt anothers family,Theres your justice and all hes rights,Thanks cc...and the red DA..
August 24, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newto843 (anonymous) says...
Quit the ridiculous war on drugs and focus on violent criminals please!
August 24, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChasCarolinaGirl (anonymous) says...
Newt ~ Sometimes its drugs that help criminals do what they do and why they do it. Just in fact, last night I had an incident with a coke head ... how do I know? B/c he was bragging about doing a line right before he got in my friends face!
I believe in an eye for an eye! Criminals have way too many rights. When they do things to innocent people, they take away their life. If the person survives the terror they were given, their lives are never the same after. Why should criminals have any rights afterwards?
They are nothing but trash and need to be thrown away somewhere on an island so that they can feed off of each other and kill each other. That is all that they deserve ... we dont need them around us and putting our children in danger also.
Just my 2 cents...
August 24, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mollycooper (anonymous) says...
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT BACK INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS. THIS CAN TEACH THE KIDS IN THE BEGINNING THAT THEIR ARE CONSEQUENCES TO THEIR ACTIONS. TAKE THEM ALL ON A FIELD TRIP TO LIEBERMAN. THAT WOULD SHOW THAT THEY NEED TO GO STRAIGHT AND NOT AWRY.
August 24, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChasCarolinaGirl (anonymous) says...
Thomas1776 ~ What are you talking about?
Im saying that after someone is convicted of a crime, they should no longer have rights as they did before but criminals get by with too much in the system.
August 24, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
Posted by ChasCarolinaGirl on August 24, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thomas1776 ~ What are you talking about?
ChasCar, Thomas only seems to make posts. He will not engage you with one on one converstation. He will either post some outragous comment or continue with the cut and paste posts. I find his post very informative and I love his rantes against Obama, however at times I really wonder about him and who he is...Now he will probably that as an insult but it is not meant to be
August 24, 2008 at 11:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChasCarolinaGirl (anonymous) says...
I understand. I also respect that everyone has a right to their own opinion.
August 24, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cplpunishment (anonymous) says...
Why give them 3 hots and a cot....how about hot lead or a one time dose of electro-shock therapy!!!
August 24, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCGirlinDC (anonymous) says...
Sorry to burst the bubble -- but criminals are humans and they DO have rights. I know that's a real paradox for conservative Carolinians but the US Constitution doesn't cease to apply because you've been convicted of a crime. The overload on the criminal justice system (from one who works there daily) is due to several things:
1. Over the last 20 years, we have criminalized EVERYTHING - from spanking your own kids to possessing a single marijuana cigarette.
2. SC has no reentry services for released offenders. If the state coffers are bare, the folks who attend church on Sunday should ramp up the "faith-based initiatives" and provide a decent chance for non-violent ex-offenders to change their lives through exposure to successful role models. Some of these guys (and women) commit crimes because they "don't know any other way to do it" - in other words, the criminal element is all they have ever been exposed to - and jail/prison doesn't change that, it only makes it worse.
3. The use of criminal record histories to determine who gets a decent job leaves the one-time offender without future opportunities for gainful employment. Therefore, it becomes a choice of a $6.50/hr job at McDonalds (because these jobs don't require folks to submit to a criminal history check) and making $1000/wk serving crackheads on America Street. Which one would you choose if you had 3-4 kids to feed and clothe?
Passing legislation or requirements that both fail to treat each offender as an individual case and overlooks the potential societal contributions of non-violent (mostly drug) offenders does a disservice to the state, the people and society as a whole. The answers lie outside simply building more prisons and locking up every offender who appears in a courtroom.
August 24, 2008 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
UrGatorbait (anonymous) says...
And it's might christian of you JohnQ,to demand that murderers and rapists go free because someone demanding otherwise is a christian? Yeah very tolerant in a liberal kind of way.
then we have the other side with our uber patriot 1176 and RW demanding hanging yada, yada, and so on. Simple solutions for simple minds.
It's a complex issue that can be solved by merely coming here and seeing some of the assinine answers on here.
A good way to start reducing crime is education and the some logic into schools.
August 24, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
In criminalizing so many things, a paradox of sorts seems to have been created.
On one hand we have, in a way, become "desensitized" to "crime. On the other hand we feel threatened because there is just so much darn crime, & "we want something done about it, damn-it".
Violent crime gets added to the mix of so many non-violent "crimes" & this actually has minimizing effect on how it is handled in the "system"- which is very disturbing.
If we focused more on protecting society from predators & violent crimes & less on criminalizing things that should be a matter of personal choice, then we would not have a problem with overfull jails. If we do not have a problem of overfull jails then there will be no temptation or reason to let out early the violent criminals.
The things that need to be done will not be done, however, because it will not be lucrative. Just follow the money.
Depending on the crime,someone convicted of a violent crime should either serve life, or ALL of a very long sentence. If he survives his very long sentence, then he has paid his debt & he is free. No parole, no post release probation.
Many things need to be decriminalized.
The list is too long for here, but it doesn't matter anyway because it will not be done unless there is some major overhaul in this country, which probably will have to be preceded by a revolution of some sort.
I truly wonder what life ahead holds for our children.
August 24, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coolfreaknbeans (anonymous) says...
amholsclaw I can't believe 9 yrs have gone by.When was he arrested for threatening his boss and girlfriend?
August 24, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
The newspaper photos those arrested for violent crimes are usually mug shots from previous arrests. When you read of an arrest for a violent crime in Charleston County, check the perp's name on the Charleston County Clerk of Court site. Rarely are these first offenses. It looks like we are losing the battle, thanks to lenient judges and the parole boards. I understand that the state feels the need to "rehabilitate" criminals, but the first obligation is to protect the public. FAIL.
August 24, 2008 at 3:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
Many people have gotten outrageous sentences for drug crimes..often due to "conspiracy" charges where the government does not have to produce one shred of physical evidence.
Other drug crimes also bring absolutely ludicrous sentences.
One man in Florida was sentenced to 50 [FIFTY!!!] years because he had ONE bottle of prescription pain pills for which he did not have a Rx. Actually I believe there were 2 separate but similar cases where this happened. (& no, I do not know either of them)
Is this justice? Are we safer because these 2 men were given what amounted to life sentences because they had some Rx pills they shouldn't have had?
The system has put some people away for decades for what should be minor infractions & yet the child molesters, assaulters, rapists, etc keep walking.
August 24, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LowCountryCrime (anonymous) says...
Justice Jean Toal is a joke. Here's an example of one of her latest decisions:
Let's say you're in a club and someone beats your *ss. You go to the police department to sign a warrant for assault and have this individual arrested. Unfortunately, the police can no longer help you. All the police can do is put a "courtesy summons" in the system for your attacker. Now, a police officer conducts a traffic stop and a records check reveals that the "courtesy summons" is in the system. What will the police do? They can't do a thing. the "courtesy summons" is civil, it's not an arrest warrant. They can't take your attacker into custody and they can't hold him while someone brings the "courtesy summons" to serve it on him. In effect.....the process of law is no longer available to the average citizen. Thanks, Jean!!!
August 24, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LowCountryCrime (anonymous) says...
abitskeptical - the "mandatory minimum" sentence in Florida for possession of illegal prescription drugs is 25 years per offense. Even I think that's a bit ridiculous.
August 24, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gmc1 (anonymous) says...
Chief Zumalt is finding out what drove Chief Greenberg crazy.
You arrest them and they are back out before you finish the paperwork. As the Chief said, you have 5% of the people committing 95 % of the crimes. That's why "they round up the usual suspects."
August 24, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
Ok Thomas whatever you say...keep up the good reporting though and I hope your message gets through to people and they action is taken against those in your posts
August 24, 2008 at 5:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChasCarolinaGirl (anonymous) says...
Thomas ~ Why do you always have to harp on Jeff? Just out of curiosity? He has the right to express his opinion as do you. He has never come across rude as you do or as Ive seen in your posts as a know it all. Be nice please.
August 24, 2008 at 7:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
buzzinlikealdrin (anonymous) says...
The root of the problem is not the criminal...it is the lawyers making the laws that let them get away with it.
August 24, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jeff61 (anonymous) says...
Posted by buzzinlikealdrin on August 24, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The root of the problem is not the criminal...it is the lawyers making the laws that let them get away with it.
You may want to read your comment again and ask yourself if it really makes any sense. How can you say the criminal is not the problem??? If the criminal did not commit crimes to start with there would be no need for the lawyers that get them off, besides,, Lawyers do not make laws it is the elected liberal representatives who vote to soften the law
August 24, 2008 at 8:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
And besides buzzin--laws don't "let" criminals get away with "it" (I presume by "it" you mean a crime). If there is no law regarding a certain thing, there is nothing to get away with. If a law does not address a thing, then there is nothing to get away with.
What exactly did you mean?
Are you complaining/commenting about defense lawyers who defend people charged with crimes?
August 24, 2008 at 9:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JJRPAS (anonymous) says...
This story provided examples where law enforcment likely failed to provide good evidence, Solicitors failed to proscecute properly, and the justice system failed to properly identify the most dangerous criminals. Like most news stories, it sensationalized, but did not provide facts or statistics that may help readers develop proper solutions. The answer is not to put even more of our citizens behind bars. There are more than enough laws to capture and lock up dangerous people. The answer is for the police, prosecutors/Solicutors, Judges, and Department of Corrections to do a better job. Why are Rapists going to jail for 2 years? Did the police not provide sufficient evidence? Did the Solicitor make mistakes? If a rapist gets out after two years, it has nothing to do with a flawed Parole system, or the lack of laws. This happens because someone did not do their job. Is the answer to lock up more people? If we want rapists and murders (violent people) off the streets, the answer is not to keep the non-violent criminals in jail longer. The is just another excuse for the failing criminal justice system. We need the police and Solicitor to do their jobs. Stop locking up non-violent people for 8, 10, 20 years and get the dangerous people off the street. We don't need baggy pants off the street! We don't need a marijuana smoker locked up for 10 years or children imprisoned as if they are adults. We are keeping the wrong people in jail (thousands of the wrong people) and allowing dangerous criminals out after short sentences. This has nothing at all to do with the parole system. It has to do with ineffective police investigations and poor prosecutors. We don't need more laws, we need fewer. We need to clean out a poorly run criminal justice system. Get people to do their jobs and hold these people accountable when they fail to prosecute and fail to get the proper sentences. We need fewer people in jail. We need to keep dangerous people behind bars and provide rehabilitative solutions for the non-violent offenders and children. Keep the dangerous in jail and get the non-violent out.
August 24, 2008 at 10:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
Ditto to JJRPAS & I'll add that often on some of these non-violent "crimes" the "people", represented by the government, did not present enough evidence because there wasn't any to begin with. This system is messed up in more ways than one.
August 25, 2008 at 6:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
JJRPAS, are you with the probation and parole board? When the thugs rob and kill innocents and each other, more often than not, they are on parole or probation for another violent crime. The fault is with the judicial system, especially the sentencing guidelines, not the arrests.
This article provides specific examples of murderers who were out on parole. These examples point to a flawed probation and parole system that has failed to do its job - keeping criminals in jail for the duration of the sentences and protecting the public.
FYI - the police officer's job is to enforce the law. If you don't agree with the laws, you might contact your legislator.
August 25, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChasCarolinaGirl (anonymous) says...
Why are you so defensive THOMAS1776? Im not playing your games ... Just calling you out:
Posted by Thomas1776 on August 24, 2008 at 6:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
jeff61,
Perhaps I might go back through your post and copy and paste some of them, like I have in the past, when it becomes necessary again.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Posted by Thomas1776 on August 24, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jeff61,
Although you assert that you are innocent, your history here speaks for itself.
I further sayeth not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by Thomas1776 on August 24, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeff61 is a hypocrite who has made threats of bodily harm right here on this website.
He would not last 2 weeks in the packed up like sardines Charleston County Detention Center before someone or group of someones worked him over real good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THOMAS1776 ~ Are you really that naive? I am not trying to get on your bad side, but it seems as though no one has to try to do that here anyways .. you just pull them out of your hat of tricks and moronic ways.
August 25, 2008 at 7:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sc4peace (anonymous) says...
I used to be against the death penalty- the main reason being that it was rather hypocritical..I still think it is, but I feel that when a predator has oommited a horrible crime- killing a child, or raping women and children...the death penalty is the only sure way to keep them off the streets. If someone ever were to touch my child- the system wouldn't even have an opportunity to prosecute...they system is all about "trying to rehabilitate" the criminals- screw that...while they are given all these chances to rehabilitate themselves,the innocent are suffering- and those murdered have no second chances...so if you take a life intentionally, be prepared to give yours-
August 25, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JJRPAS (anonymous) says...
There are sufficient laws to prosecute and sentence murderers and rapists and just about every other type of crime (including the death penalty). There is no lack of laws or ability to apply extremely long sentences. If someone commits a heinous crime such as rape, child molestation, or murder the state has to do their job and prosecute them for the crime. In many instances, including several recent examples, the state could not prove the case due to lack of evidence and/or botched prosecutions, such as charging the wrong person. In these examples, the state has settled for reduced charges (something less than rape or murder), which allows these people to walk after a brief time in jail. If the police had done proper and thorough investigations and Solicitors focused their attention on these violent criminals, these people would be sentenced properly and could not be released. Disallowing parole will not change the fact that these rapists and murders will be released early simply because they were not prosecuted properly in the first place. This parole issue is an attempted diversion from the real problem. If you sentence a rapist to 3 years, they will be released in 3 years, with or without changing parole guidelines. Keeping non-violent people behind bars longer will simply worsen the problem. Prosecute and sentence rapists and murderers to longer sentences (as the law already allows and requires). It takes real work to make a difference, not more laws that will do nothing but fill jails with more of the wrong people. This is a perfect example of laziness and ineffective measures that continue to plaque the criminal justice system in our state.
August 25, 2008 at 7:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
But criminals are often sentenced with irrefutable evidence and sometimes even a confession, only to be released after serving a partial sentence to commit more violent crimes. How is that the fault of the police and not the judge or those who grant parole? The police arrest them....the judges and parole boards set them free.
August 25, 2008 at 8:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JJRPAS (anonymous) says...
Parole is already NOT an option for violent crimes until 85% of the sentence is served. Violent criminals are currently being released because they are receiving lessor charges (plea bargain). They receive plea deals because the state does not do the work up front. Reducing or eliminating parole will only increase jail time for non-violent offenders. If the state were to prosecute a rapist for "rape" (not plea down to a lessor charge), the state could sentence them to 30 years instead of 3. If the state has irrefutable evidence and the Solicitor does not botch the case, the violent criminal does not get out early. If the Solicitor allows a lessor charge and the sentence is 3 years, parole is irrellevent. The work needs to be done up front and this no parole idea is a diversion that will only fill the jails with more non-violent offeners.
August 25, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
Many plea bargains are the result of the reluctance of witnesses and/or victims to testify, not shoddy police work.
In downtown Charleston and many other parts of the tri-county area, there may be a crowd of people present during a shooting or stabbing, but no one saw anything.
The teenager who robbed my parents was caught red handed with the goods from over 27 burglaries.....twenty eight years later, he has been arrested, sentenced, paroled, violated parole with no consequences and been arrested again and sentenced to probation at least 7 or 8 times. He is now committing carjackings, stealing motor vehicles and dealing drugs according to the Charleston County Clerk of Court website. No more jail time for this thug......he has nothing to fear of the judicial system. He gets arrested again and again and found guilty, but the judges set him free.
Here's a bit of humor that came out of the story involving this little piece of waste and his lawyer.......the first lawyer his parents hired (after mortgaging their house) drove the perp around and asked him to point out the houses he had burglarized. That lawyer had to withdraw from the case because the perp pointed out the lawyer's house!
ROFLMAO!
August 25, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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