27 inmates to be released from Richland, Kershaw jails amid coronavirus concerns
More than two dozen detainees are being released from jails in Kershaw and Richland counties amid worries that the coronavirus could have devastating impacts inside detention centers.
The 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office has agreed to release 21 detainees from Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County and six detainees from the Kershaw County Detention Center, according to Solicitor Byron Gipson.
The 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecutes criminal cases in Richland and Kershaw counties.
The public defender’s office for both counties has pushed for nonviolent and COVID-19-vulnerable detainees to be let out since the coronavirus outbreak began, and the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered that county inmates who met certain criteria must be released.
People accused of crimes in Richland and Kershaw counties can be represented by the 5th Circuit Public Defender’s Office.
As the virus spread, 5th Circuit public defenders identified detainees for possible release. Those detainee includes ones who were older than fifty and those with medical conditions, who would be more endangered by the coronavirus, and inmates accused of nonviolent crimes.
Public defenders sent a list of 59 inmates to the solicitor’s office to review for possible release. The solicitor’s office signed consent orders for 27 detainees, Gipson said.
Public Defender Fielding Pringle, who leads the public defender’s office, confirmed that the releases for 27 detainees were secured.
“We got a few that we said outright ‘we cannot consent to these,’” Gipson said. “We also have to make sure we lay eyes on each one of these cases.”
Some of the 27 detainees have been released while others are set to be released.
A process is in place and moving forward for inmate releases, Gipson said.
For an inmate to be released, the public defender’s office has to ask a judge for the release. The solicitor’s office then decides whether to consent to the request. The judge has the final say whether the detainee is released, but if the solicitor’s office agrees, the judge will most likely allow the inmate to be let out.
Gipson emphasized that only inmates accused of nonviolent crimes are being released. People charged with murder, assault or other violent crimes are not being let out.
The releases come as jails in other states have let out detainees as concerns that COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, could easily spread in the confines of detention centers. At least seven inmates at Lexington County Detention Center have also been released through agreements between the county’s public defender, solicitor and the court.
For the most part, detainees who are held at county detention centers have only been accused of a crime or crimes. Some are held in a detention center because a judge denied bond after determining they were a danger to the community or may try to flee the county or state to avoid prosecution. Others are in county jails because they can’t afford to pay the bond, which is the amount of money a judge set for them to get out
County detention centers are operated by county governments and are not part of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Some detention centers are run by county sheriff’s offices while others are operated as separate county departments. Neither the Richland nor Kershaw sheriffs run the detention centers. Rather, the facilities are managed by directors who report to the county administrator.
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MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
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Coronavirus is an infection of the respiratory system similar to the flu. Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children, but this outbreak has spawned a new disease called COVID-19, a particularly harsh respiratory condition that can lead to death.
Health officials believe COVID-19 spread from animals to humans somewhere in China. It spreads among humans by physical person-to-person contact, including via coughs. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people.
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