Inmate escaped from South Carolina prison work site, officials say
A South Carolina inmate escaped from a work site late Thursday night, according to Tweets from the S.C. Department of Corrections.
Cortney James Smith, 27, walked away from his job in Dilion at about 11:20 p.m., according to the Tweets.
Smith was assigned to Palmer Pre-Release Center in Florence. The facility houses the lowest level offenders who work, often offsite, as part of their rehabilitation.
After a little more than an hour, Smith was caught, according to a 12:45 a.m. Tweet from the department.
Smith was serving an eight year sentence for distributing crack, according to SCDC records. He has been in prison since early December 2017 and would have been eligible for parole this April.
This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 6:33 AM.
