Category: South Carolina

South Carolina Police Arrest Alex Murdaugh, Lawyer Who Allegedly Plotted Own Shooting

South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was arrested Thursday in South Carolina on charges including insurance fraud after he told state agents that he conspired with another man to commit suicide so his son would get $10 million from a life insurance policy. Murdaugh, 53, was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and…


Attorney Hired Man to Kill Him Months After Wife, Son Murdered: Police

A high-profile attorney in South Carolina hired another man to shoot him for a life insurance payout months after his wife and son were killed, authorities said in court documents. Curtis Edward Smith, 61, conspired with Alex Murdaugh, 53, in the plan, South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Division said. On Sept. 4, “Mr. Murdaugh provided Mr….


Student Questions Due Process of Mask Enforcement at Clemson University

After a Clemson University student was brought before an ethics board based on an anonymous report alleging that she wasn’t wearing a mask, the student is now questioning the due process of the mask enforcement policy at the South Carolina university. Clemson University had implemented an ethics hotline, an Office of Community and Ethical Standards…


South Carolina Attorney Shot In Head Months After Wife and Son Were Killed Resigns and Enters Rehab

A prominent South Carolina lawyer who claims he was shot in the head on Sept. 4, just months after his wife and son were murdered, has said he plans to resign from his role and enter rehab. Alex Murdaugh, a prosecutor for the 14th Judicial Circuit, discovered the bodies of his wife Margaret, 52, and his…


South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds State Legislation Prohibiting Mask Mandates in K-12 Schools

The Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled unanimously on Thursday in favor of legislation prohibiting local school districts from using state money to enforce mask mandates. “Specifically, the ordinances’ enforcement provisions unequivocally place the responsibility to enforce the mask mandate on school personnel, forcing school employees to choose between violating either state or local law,”…


South Carolina Supreme Court Strikes Down City’s School Mask Mandate

South Carolina’s Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a school mask mandate in the state’s capital city in the midst of its largest surge in COVID-19 cases since last winter. In the latest of several such legal cases across a nation where cultural and political clashes have erupted over the COVID-19 response, the court ruled…


Twin Infant Boys Found Dead Inside Car at South Carolina Daycare

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C.—Twin 20-month-old boys found dead inside a car in the parking lot of a South Carolina daycare were likely in the hot SUV for more than nine hours, authorities said Thursday. A parent discovered the toddlers in rear-facing seats shortly after arriving around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday at the Sunshine House Early Learning Academy on…


ACLU Claims South Carolina Ban on School Mask Mandates Violates Rights

A civil liberties group has filed a lawsuit against South Carolina officials, asserting the state’s ban on school mask mandates violates federal laws aimed at protecting the rights of disabled Americans. South Carolina’s legislature included a prohibition on school mask mandates in its budget, which it passed in June, and Molly Spearman, South Carolina’s education…


Largest SC Schools Get Greenlight from Supreme Court to Mandate Masks

On Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court decided in the case of Creswick v. University of South Carolina that public universities in the state were permitted to mandate masks (pdf). On July 30, University of South Carolina (USC) Interim President Harris Pastides told students and staff that masks would be required inside all University buildings…


Largest South Carolina Schools Get Greenlight from Supreme Court to Mandate Masks

On Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court decided in the case of Creswick v. University of South Carolina that public universities in the state were permitted to mandate masks (pdf). On July 30, University of South Carolina (USC) Interim President Harris Pastides told students and staff that masks would be required inside all University buildings…