Convicted killer released in secret deal brought back to SC prison

Columbia, S.C. – A convicted killer is back behind bars in South Carolina four months after he was released as part of an unannounced deal that cut his 35-year prison sentence nearly in half.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced Monday Jeriod Price is now being held at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia after agents traveled to New York to transfer him from Rikers Island’s West Facility. The 43-year-old was recaptured last week without incident at a New York City apartment.

Price was released in March after his attorney Rep. Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) and prosecutor Byron Gipson cut a deal reducing his sentence because he reported an escaped inmate before authorities knew the prisoner was missing. But no public hearing was held and the deputies who investigated Price’s crime as well as the Lowcountry family of the man he killed did not know about it. The state Supreme Court revoked the deal in April.

Price’s attorney has told the media the proceedings had to be kept secret because he would have been attacked by other prisoners if they knew he helped guards by reporting an escape. What more, Rutherford has said, Price could now be in danger.

SLED says Price is being housed in a single cell in the Department of Corrections’ most secure unit. Authorities say he will stay there until it’s determined where he should serve the remainder of his sentence. They say any concerns about Price’s safety are being addressed during his evaluation.

Meantime, the state Supreme Court promised to clarify the rules and procedures of a 2010 law that allows sentence reductions when inmates provide information that protects prison employees. But the justices have yet to release their order.