Paramedics could become death investigators in SC, as state seeks to widen coroner pool
South Carolina is one of a few states that require certain qualifications for candidates to run for a county’s chief death investigator, often allowing existing coroners to maintain their elected posts unopposed. A new measure, however, could change that.
A state House panel on Tuesday advanced a measure that would allow applicants with at least three years of experience as a paramedic to run for the coroner’s office, increasing the pool of those currently eligible.
With the current list of qualifications, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, said it’s near impossible to find anyone able to run, especially in small counties.
“I put in this bill ... because it became clear that coroners had created something that would make it so that nobody could run against them,” said bill co-sponsor Rutherford, whose ex-wife is the coroner for Richland County. “You may have two or three detectives trained in death investigations who may not live in the county,” leaving them ineligible to run, he added.
Under current state law, a candidate for coroner must be a citizen, a resident of the county in which they’re running, a registered voter, be at least 21 years old, have a high school diploma, not be a convicted felon and meet at least one additional qualification, including experience as a death investigator, law enforcement officer, nurse or medical doctor.
Other alternative qualifications include having a bachelor’s degree in nursing or forensic science, or any four-year degree coupled with one year of experience in death investigations.
“The biggest concern is that we have qualified candidates that can run (for coroner), and so this (bill) will open it up to a licensed paramedic to run, and apparently that’s a good thing,” said state Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood. “We have a lot of people who may qualify to run (as a paramedic) but do not have these other qualifications.”
Coroners are generally responsible for investigating suicides and suspicious and violent deaths that occur within their respective counties. They also oversee autopsies and rule on the cause and manner of death.
South Carolina is one of few states that have qualifications that are education-based or experience-based for someone to run for the coroner’s office, according to Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal, who is the president of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.
“I will tell you that across the country, they are really amazed that we have this qualification bill, so South Carolina should really be proud of that,” O’Neal said. “The specialty of medical death investigation has changed drastically over the past couple of years. It is much more scientific, technical, research-based and scrutinized.”
But O’Neal took issue with what she says is a loophole in the law, creating a way for candidates to run who have yet to complete a forensic science certification program.
“The Coroners Association does not consider someone who is enrolled (in a certification program) to be qualified,” O’Neal said. “And our citizens deserve somebody who’s qualified at the time of filing or the time they take office, not a year after they become elected.”
Currently, anyone enrolled in a forensic science degree or certification program can run for coroner, provided that they complete the program within one year of being elected.
O’Neal said the law doesn’t allow for her association to confirm whether someone is actually enrolled in a program or if they even complete it within a year of taking office.
“There is also no consequences or penalties for someone who does not follow the law and complete the program within one year,” she added.
State Rep. Ivory Thigpin, D-Richland, however, suggested that O’Neal was trying to find a problem without evidence showing that one actually existed.
“Do you have a specific number of individuals who have not completed the certification program within one year (of taking office?),” Thigpin asked, to which O’Neal answered she did not have a number.
“So, one of the things that I’m always concerned about is legislation in search of a problem,” Thigpin said. “At the end of the day, I believe the more applicants we have, the more contested elections we have, that by itself would produce individuals and more qualified persons to work (as a coroner).”
This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 12:51 PM.
