Attorney Todd Rutherford, representing Jeroid Price, announced plans to request the restoration of a sentence reduction agreement that was canceled, leading to Price being sent back to prison in South Carolina. Rutherford stated that neither he nor his client did anything wrong to warrant the state Supreme Court’s emergency order in April that revoked Price’s reduced sentence.
The court ruled that Solicitor Byron Gipson and retired Judge Casey Manning had not followed the law when they secretly reduced Price’s 35-year sentence by 16 years. The justices highlighted the failure to hold a public hearing or publicly file documents as among the mistakes made. Price was taken into custody in New York City 11 weeks after the court’s order in April. The court expressed concern over the lack of compliance with legal requirements by Gipson and Manning, stating that they should not have handled the case in secret or sealed the documents.
Judge Manning was accused of multiple errors of law and acting beyond his authority. The dissenting justices disagreed with Price being sent back to prison for the mistakes made by the judge and prosecutor. Price was convicted of murder for the 2002 shooting of Carl Smalls Jr. at a Columbia club. Prior to a 2010 law, murder sentences could not be reduced. Prosecutors had sought a way to reward prisoners who provided information to ensure prison safety.
Rutherford mentioned that Price had twice assisted guards by reporting or stopping planned attacks and had alerted his lawyer about an escaped inmate before prison officials were aware. Rutherford intends to present additional witnesses, evidence, and information at a new hearing if scheduled.
Author: Ryan Scott
Just a guy
