South-Carolina
South Carolina supreme court rules state’s death penalty is legal
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.
South-Carolina
South Carolina Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 10, 2026
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing
16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL numbers from March 10 drawing
Midday: 7-8-3, FB: 4
Evening: 6-9-0, FB: 0
Check Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL numbers from March 10 drawing
Midday: 3-7-7-1, FB: 4
Evening: 1-3-5-8, FB: 0
Check Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from March 10 drawing
Midday: 07
Evening: 06
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Palmetto Cash 5 numbers from March 10 drawing
04-05-06-07-11
Check Palmetto Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
The South Carolina Education Lottery provides multiple ways to claim prizes, depending on the amount won:
For prizes up to $500, you can redeem your winnings directly at any authorized South Carolina Education Lottery retailer. Simply present your signed winning ticket at the retailer for an immediate payout.
Winnings $501 to $100,000, may be redeemed by mailing your signed winning ticket along with a completed claim form and a copy of a government-issued photo ID to the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center. For security, keep copies of your documents and use registered mail to ensure the safe arrival of your ticket.
SC Education Lottery
P.O. Box 11039
Columbia, SC 29211-1039
For large winnings above $100,000, claims must be made in person at the South Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters in Columbia. To claim, bring your signed winning ticket, a completed claim form, a government-issued photo ID, and your Social Security card for identity verification. Winners of large prizes may also set up an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for convenient direct deposit of winnings.
Columbia Claims Center
1303 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Claim Deadline: All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date for draw games.
For more details and to access the claim form, visit the South Carolina Lottery claim page.
When are the South Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Pick 4: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash Pop: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Palmetto Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Carolina editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South-Carolina
Source: Lamont Paris returning to South Carolina next season
NOTE: The above video is a livestream of WIS featuring current newscasts, Soda City Living and Gray Media’s Local News Live.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Lamont Paris will remain the head coach for South Carolina men’s basketball next season.
A source confirmed to WIS that Paris will return for his fifth season at the helm.
The Gamecocks have gone 62-67 under Paris, which included an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2023-24 season. In the two seasons since, however, South Carolina has gone 12-20 and 13-18, respectively.
Paris’s tenure has also included a 23-49 record against the SEC as of Tuesday.
The Gamecocks will face Oklahoma on Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. The game will also be televised on the SEC Network.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2026 WIS. All rights reserved.
South-Carolina
Alexander brothers convicted of sex trafficking in Manhattan federal court
NEW YORK — Three brothers, including two of the nation’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted of sex trafficking Monday after a five-week trial over accusations that they drugged and raped scores of women they had dazzled with their wealth and opulent lifestyle.
The verdict came after 11 women testified in Manhattan federal court they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39. All three shook their heads as the jury foreperson said “guilty” 19 straight times, a powerful reckoning that could put them behind bars for the rest of their lives.
Tal Alexander dropped his head into his crossed arms. Their stunned parents sat in the gallery behind them. Alon Alexander’s wife shielded her face with her hand and appeared to fight back tears.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni set sentencing for Aug. 6. The brothers, jailed since their 2024 arrests, will appeal the verdict, their lawyers said.
“We believe in our clients’ innocence and we’re not going to stop fighting until we prevail, and we believe that we will one day prevail,” defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said outside the courthouse.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton lauded the verdict as vindication for victims of crimes that often go unreported and unpunished.
“The truth is sex trafficking and other federal sex offenses are present in many walks of life and we have not done enough to root it out,” Clayton said in a statement.
Dozens of women say they were drugged and assaulted
The verdict represented a spectacular fall for Oren and Tal Alexander, once known as real estate’s “A Team” for their high-ticket sales and celebrity clientele. After smashing sales records at industry powerhouse Douglas Elliman, the brothers started their own firm. Alon Alexander ran their family’s private security company.
Victims testified that they met the brothers at nightclubs, parties and on dating apps, and were attacked after accepting their invitations to all-expense paid getaways to the Hamptons; Aspen, Colorado; and a Caribbean cruise. More than 60 women say they were raped by one or more of the brothers, according to prosecutors.
Defense lawyers suggested the accusers had faulty memories or were hoping to cash in on the brothers’ fortunes. The brothers were womanizers, their lawyers conceded. But they insisted any sex was consensual.
In addition to the top charges, Alon and Tal Alexander were also convicted of sex trafficking of a minor while Alon and Oren Alexander were convicted of aggravated sexual abuse by force or intoxicant and sexual abuse of a physically incapacitated person. Oren Alexander was also convicted of sexually exploiting a minor after prosecutors showed the jury a video he recorded of himself appearing to assault a drugged 17-year-old.
Lawsuits expose an open secret in the real estate world
Besides the criminal case, the brothers have faced about two dozen lawsuits over the last two years, including one filed last week in which Tracy Tutor, a star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles,” alleges Oren Alexander drugged and assaulted her while she was in New York City for a real estate event.
When the first of the lawsuits were filed, multiple women came forward claiming they had also been assaulted, and that the brothers’ misconduct had been an open secret in the real estate world. The government took notice and opened a criminal case.
During the trial, many women who testified said they believed the brothers had spiked their drinks. Some described feeling like they’d lost control of their bodies.
One woman testified that she met the brothers in 2012 at a party at actor Zac Efron’s Manhattan apartment. She said she had almost no interaction with the actor, who was not accused of any misdeeds, and went to a nightclub later in the night before waking up naked with a nude Alon Alexander standing over her.
“I don’t want to have sex with you,” she testified telling him. “Haha, you already did,” she recalled him snapping back as he “laughed in my face.”
Testimony challenges claim that money drove allegations
Prosecutors pushed back against the idea that the accusers were hoping to cash in on lawsuits. Only two have lawsuits pending, prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa told jurors, and both are wealthy.
One woman who testified said she was raped by Alon Alexander in Aspen, Colorado, in 2017, when she was 17. She said she was the daughter of a billionaire.
“I don’t want their money. I just don’t want them to have it,” she told jurors.
Lindsey Acree, an artist and gallery owner, testified she was raped by Tal Alexander and another man at a home in the Hamptons in 2011 after taking a drink that left her feeling paralyzed.
The woman said she sued last year even though she will “never need their money” because the Alexanders “kept calling us gold diggers, shake down artists, con artists.”
“If there’s a kid with a stick who keeps hitting people, you take their stick away,” she told the jury. “Money is their stick, so you take it away so they can’t hurt people anymore.”
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Acree and Tutor have done.
Copyright 2026 NPR
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