Tag: South Carolina

Man Freed in Competency Mix up Arrested Again in South Carolina Killings

COLUMBIA, S.C.—A man charged with killing two sisters in South Carolina 12 years ago but who disappeared out of the legal system after he was found incompetent to stand trial was arrested Thursday in Colorado after authorities reinstated his charges, a sheriff’s office and a family attorney said. Williamsburg County deputies began looking for Joseph…


Authorities: Man Dies While Burying Woman He Strangled

TRENTON, S.C.—A 60-year-old man who strangled his girlfriend died of a heart attack while burying her body in their South Carolina backyard, investigators said. Deputies found Joseph Anthony McKinnon’s body Saturday after neighbors called and reported an unconscious man in a yard in Trenton, the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. As they…


South Carolina Senate Advances Bill That Would Prohibit Biological Males From Participating in Women’s Sports

Legislation prohibiting transgender students in South Carolina from playing on sports teams not aligned with their biological gender in public school and college sports advanced in the state Senate on May 4. The Senate voted 30–10 to pass Senate Bill 531, also called the Save Women’s Sports Act, which, if adopted in the House and…


Ex-Banker Charged With Conspiring in Murdaugh Money Scheme

COLUMBIA, S.C.—A grand jury has indicted the former CEO of a South Carolina bank on charges of conspiring with once-prominent, now- suspended attorney Alex Murdaugh to defraud victims—including the family of a deaf man who became quadriplegic after a car crash — of $1.8 million. Russell Laffitte, who headed Palmetto State Bank until he was…


South Carolina Police Officer Fatally Shot While Responding to Domestic Disturbance Call

A South Carolina officer was shot dead “for no reason” while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Cayce early Sunday morning, officials have said. Police Officer Drew Barr was shot and killed as he and other officers responded to the disturbance call at a home on Rossmore Road at around 2:45 a.m. local time, Cayce Police Chief…


Legislation to Prohibit Discriminatory Teaching in K-12 Classrooms Advances in South Carolina House

South Carolina legislation that would prohibit the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in the K-12 classroom advanced in the House on April 21. House Bill 5183, or the South Carolina Transparency and Integrity in Education Act, would prevent “ideological and viewpoint biases” being presented as fact instead of theory while maintaining “complete histories of…


South Carolina Legislation to Prohibit Discriminatory Teaching in K–12 Classrooms Advances

Legislation in South Carolina that would prohibit the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in K–12 classrooms was approved by the state’s House of Representatives on April 21. House Bill 5183, or the South Carolina Transparency and Integrity in Education Act, seeks to prevent “ideological and viewpoint biases” from being presented as fact instead of…


State Supreme Court Halts South Carolina Death Row Inmate’s Planned Execution by Firing Squad

The South Carolina Supreme Court on April 20 issued a temporary stay preventing the state from carrying out what would have been its first-ever execution by firing squad. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, was scheduled to be executed on April 29. He would have been only the fourth prisoner in the United States to die by that method…


Police: Man Shot Performer Who Scared Group at Haunted House

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—A performer who scared a group at a South Carolina haunted house was shot by a man who said he thought he was grabbing a prop gun as part of the experience, police said. The employee at the Zombie Experience at the Hollywood Wax Museum Haunted House in Myrtle Beach was hit in…


Suspect in Mall Shooting That Left 14 Injured Could Return to Work Under Bail Conditions

A South Carolina judge set a $25,000 bond for a suspect who is accused in a mall shooting that left 14 people injured over the past week, police said. But the man’s lawyer said that he opened fire at the mall in self-defense. The judge allowed Jewayne Price, 22, to be on house arrest and said he…