Columbia, SC (WOLO) — Students in York, Clover and Chester County schools head back to the classroom on Thursday.
New this year,  the state of South Carolina has banned students from using mobile phones at school.  If schools don’t follow the rule they could lose state funding.

Many of the students used apps like Canva to complete certain school projects, which originally could be accessed on their phones. Students worry about how they would contact their parents if an emergency was to occur but school officials say that phones have become a distraction that hopefully will help minimize cyberbullying.

Zane Cina spoke to school leaders and students about the ban.

The South Carolina supreme court ruled on Wednesday that the state’s death penalty, which now includes a firing squad as well as lethal injection and the electric chair, is legal.

All five justices agreed with at least part of the ruling, opening the door to restart executions in a state that has not put a prisoner to death since 2011. But two of the justices said they felt the firing squad was not a legal way to kill a prisoner and one of them felt the electric chair was a cruel and unusual punishment.

The death penalty law is legal because instead of seeking to inflict pain, the choice between the three execution methods makes it appear that lawmakers are genuinely against inflicting pain and making the death penalty as humane as possible, Associate Justice John Few wrote in the majority opinion.

As many as eight inmates may be out of traditional appeals. It is unclear when executions could restart or whether lawyers for death row inmates can appeal the ruling.

South Carolina has executed 43 inmates since the death penalty was restarted in the US in 1976. Nearly all inmates have chosen lethal injection.

“Choice cannot be considered cruel because the condemned inmate may elect to have the State employ the method he and his lawyers believe will cause him the least pain,” Few wrote.

South Carolina has not performed an execution since 2011. The state’s supplies of drugs for lethal injections expired and no pharmaceutical companies would sell more if they could be publicly identified.

Lawmakers authorized the state to create a firing squad in 2021 to give inmates a choice between it and the old electric chair. The inmates sued, saying either choice was cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the constitution.

In spring 2023, the legislature passed a shield law to keep lethal injection drug suppliers secret and the state announced in September it had the sedative pentobarbital and changed the method of lethal injection execution from using three drugs to just one.

The supreme court allowed the prisoners to add arguments that the shield law was too secret by not releasing the potency, purity and stabilization of lethal injection drugs.

South Carolina has 32 inmates on its death row. Four prisoners are suing, but four more have also run out of appeals, although two of them face a competency hearing before they could be executed, according to Justice 360, a group that describes itself as fighting for the inmates and for fairness and transparency in death penalty and other major criminal cases.

The state said in its argument before the state supreme court in February that lethal injection, electrocution and firing squad all fit existing death penalty protocols. “Courts have never held the death has to be instantaneous or painless,” wrote Grayson Lambert, a lawyer for Governor Henry McMaster’s office.

But lawyers for the inmates asked the justices to agree with circuit judge Jocelyn Newman who stopped executions with the electric chair or firing squad.

She cited the inmates’ experts, who testified at a trial that prisoners would feel terrible pain whether their bodies were “cooking” by 2,000 volts of electricity in the chair, built in 1912, or if their hearts were stopped by bullets – assuming the three shooters were on target – from the yet-to-be used firing squad.

On the shield law, the attorneys for the inmate said they needed to know if there was a regular supplier for the drug since it typically only has a shelf life of 45 days and what guidelines are in place to test the drug and make sure it is what the seller claims.

Too weak, and inmates may suffer without dying. Too strong, and the drug molecules can form tiny clumps that would cause intense pain when injected, according to court papers.

“No inmate in the country has ever been put to death with such little transparency about how he or she would be executed,” the Justice 360 lawyer Lindsey Vann wrote.

Lawyers for the inmates did tell the justices in February that lethal injection that follows proper protocols with information about the drug given to the condemned in a manner that matches what other states and the federal government use would appear to be legal.

South Carolina used to carry out an average of three executions a year and had more than 60 inmates on death row when the last execution was carried out in 2011. Since then, successful appeals and natural deaths have lowered the number to 32.

Prosecutors have sent only three new prisoners to death row in the past 13 years. Facing rising costs, the lack of lethal injection drugs and more vigorous defenses, they are choosing to accept guilty pleas and life in prison without parole.

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football players practice Friday and officially begin the start of preparations for the 2024 season.

Shane Beamer begins his fourth year as coach of the Gamecocks with new offensive talent and veteran leaders on defense. After a 5-7 season last year, South Carolina’s expectations from the outside in the new 16-team SEC aren’t sky high as the Gamecocks were picked to finish 13th in the media’s preseason poll.

Now, with redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers as the new quarterback, a transfer-filled roster and position battles to be settled, South Carolina begins its pursuit of a winning season. Here are five of our biggest questions that might be answered during preseason.

Who will be the starting wide receiver for South Carolina?

Beamer didn’t talk much about wide receivers during SEC Media Days. He just briefly mentioned how the Gamecocks are without Xavier Legette, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, after leading the team in receiving yards with 1,255 and seven touchdowns in 2023. Antwane L. “Juice” Wells Jr., who had 928 receiving yards in 2022, transferred to Ole Miss.

Jared Brown, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Gage Larvadain, Dalevon Campbell and Vandrevius Jacobs are the five new transfer receivers, who are in a position battle with freshman Mazeo Bennett and sophomore Tyshawn Russell.

In the spring game, Russell and Bennett combined for 42 receiving yards but as of right now, there isn’t an obvious choice to replace Legette.

Does Robby Ashford still have a shot at QB1?

When Beamer named Sellers the starting quarterback in May, he was careful with his wording and made it clear that it was still a position to compete for in August. He complimented Robby Ashford and made it clear that if Sellers didn’t work for it, it could be taken away.

Ashford, a redshirt senior, transferred to South Carolina from Auburn with two years of eligibility remaining and while he’s much older than Sellers, he has less experience playing for the Gamecocks.

While it’s almost certain Sellers will take the field in the season opener on Aug. 31 against Old Dominion, Beamer’s wording begs the question of what Ashford’s role will look like in practices and how many reps he’ll take as quarterback in August.

South Carolina football’s kicker battle

Quarterback and wide receiver aren’t the only position battles this season. The Gamecocks also lost kicker Mitch Jeter, who transferred to Notre Dame.

In the spring game, freshman Mason Love was the punter for Team Black and sixth-year player Alex Herrera kicked field goals, and are two of Beamer’s best options.

Other options included redshirt freshman Peyton Argent, who kicked for Team Garnet in the spring, redshirt sophomore Daniel Lester and redshirt junior William Joyce.

What happens if Rocket Sanders gets injured again?

The run game this season is expected to be all Rocket Sanders, a senior who transferred from Arkansas. Sanders battled a knee injury and torn labrum in 2023 and only played six games. Beamer praised his rehab process and said he’s ready to go, but with so much pressure on Sanders to carry the offense, do the Gamecocks have a backup plan?

How much can the offensive line improve from last year?

South Carolina’s offensive line was riddled by injuries last year, and with a new quarterback who can run and throw the ball, Sellers will need maximum protection.

TICKETS: How to buy South Carolina football tickets? See prices for games on 2024 schedule

With the freshman trio of Kam Pringle, Blake Franks, and Josiah Thompson and veterans Jakai Moore and Vershon Lee, the Gamecocks have great potential but will need to continue to improve to face some of the best defenses in the SEC like Alabama and LSU.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin