The South Carolina Code of Laws, § 16-25-20, states in part that any person convicted or pleads guilty to a 3rd offense of what is known as Criminal Domestic Violence, shall serve a mandatory 1 year but not more than 5 years of imprisonment, and is guilty of a felony.
In October of this year, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments for a Petitioner who believed that inmates convicted of CDV 3rd should be permitted to earn good time credits and earned work credits such that they could reduce their terms of actual imprisonment below the mandatory minimum of one year. In November, the Court issued an opinion.
The Court did not agree with the Petitioner, stating "We find the legislature intended § 16-25-20(B)(3) to require inmates convicted of CDV 3rd to actually be imprisoned for the mandatory one-year minimum. The legislature expressly provided that an inmate convicted of CDV, second offense, who is sentenced to the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment is eligible for early release based on credits he is able to earn during the service of his sentence. We find that, by omitting such language from the provision at issue, the legislature intended to make an inmate convicted of CDV 3rd ineligible to receive good time and earned work credits to reduce the time they are required to serve below the mandatory minimum of one year. See Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 86, 533 S.E.2d 578, 582 (2000) (the canon of construction "expressio unius est exclusio alterius" or "inclusio unius est exclusio alterius" holds that “to express or include one thing implies the exclusion of another, or of the alternative"). "
Therefore, giving the CDV laws in the state of South Carolina more teeth. To review the opinion in its entirety click here: Kevin Nelson vs.Johnathan E. Ozmint.
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