He may have been well behaved but that’s no excuse for accidentally letting a convicted and sentenced killer out of jail 16 years early. The family of the man he murdered wants him dragged back to his cell. South Carolina law is clear. They have a bare minimum and Jeroid Price hasn’t done the time he was handed.
Killer walks away free
Those who know the killer now claim he’s been a model prisoner who’s gone out of his way to help authorities. Back in 2003, Jeroid Price killed 22-year-old Carl Smalls Jr.
It happened at a nightclub near Columbia, South Carolina. The victim’s family at least had the comfort of knowing that Price would be serving a 35-year prison sentence.
When they learned that their family member’s killer “walked free under an order written by now-retired Judge Casey Manning” they came unglued. All it took was a request from Price’s attorney. The judge should have known better but granted the request, anyway.
It's almost 8 o'clock — Do you know where your local convicted killer is? — Jeroid Price is on the lam– nearly 5 hours after court orders him back to the clink — Convicted SC killer released early must return to prison, Supreme Court rules https://t.co/vKrOeZaiHo
— John Monk (@jmonkatthestate) April 26, 2023
“Smalls’ family is demanding Price be put back behind bars, pointing to a state law that requires convicted killers to serve at least 30 years in jail without the possibility of early release.” That means he has at least another 11 to go. Maybe then they can talk about early release.
“The justice system, to me, is turning into the criminal assistance system instead of the criminal justice system, and we as a family were just collateral damage in this system of criminals,” the victim’s father, Carl Smalls, relates.
Liberal officials don’t want any criminals in prison, not even a killer. The only ones who deserve jail time, Democrats insist, are Republicans. Especially Donald Trump. They’ll keep making up things to charge him with until they get one to stick.
Out-of-state prison
Part of the problem, South Carolina Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain relates, is the fact that the killer was “released in March from an out-of-state prison, despite the mandatory minimum requirement under state law.”
They weren’t aware South Carolina had dibs on him. That’s why Attorney General Alan Wilson “is pushing for the court to unseal the secret directive that ultimately led to Price’s release from the New Mexico prison.”
New Mexico is a hotbed of liberals where keeping a killer in jail is totally unthinkable. In this case, they were given what they thought were good reasons to turn one loose.
We’re now hearing that Jeroid Price is on the run so … all those who were joking about margaritas on the beach might not have been wrong! Good lord. This day!
— Liz Farrell (@elizfarrell) April 26, 2023
“Manning, the judge who ordered his release, cited the fact he saved a law enforcement officer from injury or death, and he alerted prison officials of an inmate who escaped, as grounds for him to walk free.” So what? the Smalls family counters.
Jeroid Price is a convicted killer and the law is crystal clear. Killers get 30 years in prison and not a day less, no matter which state they get warehoused in. “He absolutely should not have been released from prison, and we need to get him back behind bars as quickly as possible,” Wilson relates.
The family isn’t happy to have the wound ripped back open. “The family said Price’s release has re-victimized them 20 years after the tragedy and has had a detrimental impact on their healing journey as they now seek justice, again, for their son and brother.“
