Editorials from across South Carolina: Roof guilty plea, expungement, SCE&G nuclear plant
Right call on Roof guilty plea
Dylann Roof is headed to federal prison and most likely his execution. If he isn’t put to death, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Even the most ardent advocates for his execution should be satisfied.
Judge orders Dylann Roof be transferred to federal prison
The state’s decision to accept a guilty plea for a life-in-prison sentence saves the city and the victims’ families from more trauma, not to mention saving taxpayers the cost of another trial.
“The goal is to get him into federal custody so their sentence can be imposed,” Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said after announcing the deal Friday.
Attorney Andy Savage, who represented several of the victims’ families and survivor Felicia Sanders, said his clients were relieved by the decision.
“They’re all pleased,” he said. “The great thing is, they don’t have to worry. It’s a great insurance policy. It’s what they’ve been hoping for.”
Many of the victims’ families opposed Roof’s execution.…
The people of Charleston, who have already endured two years of pain associated with the massacre, should be glad to close the book on this sad chapter in the city’s history.
Non-violent offenders deserve a chance
State legislation that would pave the way to wipe clean minor criminal offenses from the records of ex-cons is gaining momentum and has even garnered the support of the state Chamber of Commerce.…
Business group backs erasing more minor crimes from records
SC Legislature determined to rewrite even more history
(P)eople with minor offenses — again, this isn’t about violent crimes, such as domestic violence, sexual assaults, theft and other crimes that are and should be red flags for any business hiring people — are at a disadvantage in efforts to rejoin society as productive and taxpaying residents.
Absolutely, we concur that businesses must retain their rights to hire whomever they choose, but we also agree with the state Chamber’s support of this legislation. It will benefit the former criminal, most certainly, but also the businesses that are often finding a shallow workforce pool from which to choose.
The legislation would not automatically expunge these offenses, by the way. It also requires that people’s record be clean for a period of at least three to five years (dependent up on what the crime is) before they can apply to have the slate wiped.
South Carolina would not be a leader and innovator in this area. Other states have similar programs or automatically hit the restart button and wipe clean nonviolent crimes from records after a set length of time.
Bankruptcy highlights folly of finance deal
The Westinghouse bankruptcy impacts us more than we realize. Westinghouse is the lead contractor at two nuclear power facilities within an hour drive — V.C. Summer in Jenkinsville and Project Vogtle in Burke County, Georgia.…
(T)he frenzy surrounding the Westinghouse bankruptcy has exposed another weak point relating to V.C. Summer — the Base Load Review Act, or BLRA.
Westinghouse troubles loom over SC, Georgia nuke projects
SCANA, Santee Cooper to reassess reactors after Westinghouse bankruptcy
Approved in 2007, the act allows SCANA to seek rate increases related to nuclear and other facilities while still under construction, even if residents aren’t reaping any benefits. Several SCANA rate hikes fell under the BLRA.
Proponents say this reduces consumer expense. We disagree.
We think this pay-as-you-go approach is awfully risky as evidenced by current events. Ratepayers may wind up paying more in the long run should SCE&G raise rates. It’s wrong to force power customers to pay higher rates for a facility that’s years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.
Some state lawmakers recently voiced concerns about a pending roads bill because it raises the gas tax without offsetting taxes elsewhere. Shouldn’t the same conservative mindset apply to the BLRA? We think so.
This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Editorials from across South Carolina: Roof guilty plea, expungement, SCE&G nuclear plant."