Greenville Leader

A significant contributing factor to the increase in homicides in South Carolina is excessive judicial leniency for violent offenders, according to former gubernatorial press secretary Will Folks in an article for FITSNews.

Homicide rates have increased in the state by 25% between 2019 and 2020, according to the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division.

"Excessive judicial leniency has become almost as grave a threat to public safety as the criminals being allowed to run wild on our streets," Folks wrote.

Folks was the press secretary for former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

In his article, Folks advocated for the appointment of judges who are tough on crime and would not release dangerous offenders who would undoubtedly commit more violent, destructive and fatal crimes.

"I am deeply invested in the constitutional guarantee of due process for all defendants," he wrote. "But we cannot allow the rights of those charged with violent crimes to supersede the rights of crime victims. Nor can we permit public safety to be jeopardized by ill-conceived bond decisions. At the very least, first-time violent criminals who break the law while they are out on bond should forfeit the right to further leniency."

Additionally, Folks argued that a key element of appointing suitable judges is electing leaders who are genuine in their commitment to putting an end to violent crime.

“In certain situations, I understand how first-time violent offenders can and possibly should be granted some leniency based on mitigating factors," Folks wrote. "But there is an old expression that when people show you who they really are, you should believe them.”

Folks cited two examples of violent offenders committing crimes after being released on bond in his article. Tyquan Cooper, a 20-year-old North Charleston man, was charged with one count of manslaughter and 13 counts of felony assault and battery in the aftermath of a shooting that occurred May 22, following a concert in North Charleston.

Cooper was charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm during a violent crime in 2019, but on July 30, 2019, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Markley Dennis granted him a $50,000 consolidated surety bond. Cooper was then arrested for the second time on four drug charges within three months of his release but was again released on bond, this time receiving a $5,000 surety bond from Charleston County magistrate Amanda Haselden.

A similar incident was reported in a separate FITSNews article, in which Charles Clippard was charged and freed on bond three times before committing 13 violent armed robberies in a Hispanic neighborhood in Columbia.