A look at notable, important cases involving SC’s ‘stand your ground’ law
Lawyers for a man accused of chasing and killing a 14-year-old, suspected of stealing water from a convenience store, will argue their client is immune from prosecution under South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground Law.”
On Nov. 3, Rick Chow, 60, will assert he was standing his ground when he shot and killed 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton, after suspecting the teen of stealing bottles of water from a Shell station at 7441 Parklane Road in May 2023.
Chow’s immunity hearing comes amid a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Carmack-Belton’s family by Attorney Austin Nichols of the Rutherford Law Firm.
In an order issued in August by Fifth Circuit Judge Daniel Coble, the suit was stayed, or paused, pending the completion of Chow’s criminal trial.
Under South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground” law, a person is allowed to meet force with force, including deadly force, if the person asserting the defense is in a place they have a right to be, not engaged in unlawful activity and believes the level force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime.
The Chow case sparked protests and led to Chow’s Shell gas station being vandalized. The incident pointed to how South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground Law” continues to be a controversial defense in cases involving shooting deaths.
Two other cases involving the law have raised questions about police misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel.
‘Stand Your Ground’ during road rage
In 2023, a road rage incident involving two pickup trucks led to the death of Scott Spivey in Horry County.
Spivey, who was driving a black Chevrolet Silverado, got into an altercation with Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Williams while travelling on Hwy 9.
Boyd, who was operating a white Dodge Ram, called 911 and said that Spivey had pointed a gun at Williams who was sitting in the passenger seat.
Boyd pursued Spivey for nearly ten miles before Spivey pulled over, wielding a firearm, warning Boyd to not follow him, according to a witness who called 911. During that exchange, the witness said Boyd had a gun aimed at Spivey and “just unloaded a complete magazine” into Spivey’s truck.
Spivey died on the scene and Boyd and Williams were cleared of any wrongdoing by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
But on Oct. 3, Wilson sent a letter to 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette, asking his office to review the case in light of accusations involving police misconduct.
“Once the investigation is complete, it may or may not bring up evidence that would affect the facts as we understand them from the initial investigation, including the review of the death of Scott Spivey and my office’s determination of immunity under the Protection of Persons and Property Act, commonly referred to as ‘Stand Your Ground Act’,” Wilson said in the letter.
When asked about the request for review, Mark Tinsley, attorney for the Spivey family, said in text to a reporter with The Sun News, “I think it’s the best thing that’s happened in the case since I got involved.”
The probe into the Spivey case remains ongoing.
‘Stand Your Ground’ while a social guest in attacker’s home
In another case, a woman appealed a murder conviction on the grounds that her lawyers failed to argue self-defense under South Carolina’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
Holly Jo Thompson was convicted of murdering James Solomon while a guest in his home. She was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2016.
In an appeal to the South Carolina Court of Appeals, Thompson argued that her actions were in self-defense because she hit Solomon with a vase after he attacked her with a knife and threatened to kill her.
A lawyer on the team that represented Thompson during her trail, told the appeals court that they did not argue for immunity under “Stand Your Ground,” because they believed it wasn’t the best legal theory.
The appeals court upheld Johnson’s conviction and ruled that her lawyers were not ineffective because an open question remains whether a person can invoke immunity under “Stand Your Ground,” when the person was a guest and used force against an attacker in the attacker’s home.
