SOUTH CAROLINA — Several law enforcement officers say it’s time to change the way South Carolina appoints its judges.
Case and point: Law enforcement officers say Jeroid Price, who has ties to the Charlotte area, is now on the loose and is wanted by the SBI and South Carolina state police. Price has been called the godfather of the Bloods gang in South Carolina prisons.
This spring, a judge let him out of prison, where he was serving time for murder. Now, the state’s highest court has ordered him back behind bars.
Channel 9′s Tina Terry talked to local and state law enforcement officials who believe the state’s process of selecting judges may have impacted Price’s release from prison, and they told her it’s time for change.
‘A promising life ahead of him’
“Price needs to be arrested and back in jail and do his time,” said Lillie Smalls, the victim’s mother.
Lillie and Carl Smalls are outraged that Price, who was convicted of murdering their son, is now free.
“I just could not believe it,” Carl said.
In 2002, Price shot and killed Carl Smalls Jr., who was a college athlete.
“People just do not understand how hard it is to lose a child,” Lillie Smalls said.
Attorney David Pascoe helped prosecute the case.
“He was leader of the Bloods,” Pascoe said. “Carl Smalls was a football player at UNC. He had a promising career. He had a promising life ahead of him, but he made the mistake of disrespecting Jeroid Price and the Bloods gang that night.”
Price was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison. But Pascoe said Price was released this spring -- about 16 years early. He said a state judge signed the release order after a secret meeting with Price’s attorney, Todd Rutherford.
‘It’s not fair, it’s not right’
Rutherford is also a lawmaker and member of South Carolina’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission, or JMSC. It helps select judges in the state.
In a Supreme Court hearing after Price’s release, Rutherford said Price shared key information with the state about another inmate’s escape, which is why his release was kept quiet.
“In an effort to shield his identity -- because he is still in the Department of Corrections -- in an effort to shield his identity, that is why the proceedings appear to be secret,” Rutherford had said.
Ultimately, the court ruled that proper process wasn’t followed and ordered Price back to prison.
“Jeroid Price was let go on this order signed by a circuit court judge after 19 years, so it was absolutely in my opinion an illegal order,” Pascoe said.
The JMSC has 10 members. Six of them, including Rutherford, are state lawmakers who are also attorneys. The powerful commission determines if judge applicants in South Carolina are qualified. The candidates that they back get a shot at being voted into office by the legislature.
“It’s not fair, it’s not right,” said Solicitor Kevin Brackett.
Brackett, who represents York County, said South Carolina and Virginia are the only two states that allow lawmakers to appoint judges. He said the process is flawed.
“Imagine if the coaching staff at Clemson got to pick who the referees are going to be,” he said.
‘This really needs to change’
Brackett and York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said the current process gives attorneys who are also lawmakers an unfair advantage when they go to court.
“We’re just saying, as a law enforcement community, that this really needs to change,” Tolson said.
“When you have a legislative body that hires, pays and can fire the other branch of government, how can anybody think that is a co-equal branch of government?” Brackett said. “It cannot be. That’s an employee.”
The commission chair, Rep. Micah Caskey, agreed to talk on camera. Terry asked if he supports changing the way South Carolina judges are elected.
“When people say ‘let’s just get rid of the JMSC model,’ the question that comes to mind is then what? Because there is no perfect selection model,” he said.
Caskey said he welcomes a conversation about change that isn’t rushed.
In the meantime, the Smalls family hopes the man who murdered their son is found soon.
“To go through this all over again is very hard,” Lillie Smalls said.
Terry reached out to commission member Todd Rutherford but didn’t immediately hear back.
As for Price, law enforcement says the FBI and other agencies are offering separate $30,000 rewards for information that leads to his arrest.
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