2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 24 - Corrections, Jails, Probations, Paroles and Pardons › Chapter 13 - Prisoners Generally › Section 24-13-125. Eligibility for work release; limitations; forfeiture of credits.

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except in a case in which the death penalty or a term of life imprisonment is imposed, or as provided in this subsection, an inmate convicted of a "no parole offense", as defined in Section 24-13-100, and sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections, including an inmate serving time in a local facility pursuant to a designated facility agreement authorized by Section 24-3-20 or Section 24-3-30, is not eligible for work release until the inmate has served not less than eighty percent of the actual term of imprisonment imposed. This percentage must be calculated without the application of earned work credits, education credits, or good conduct credits, and is to be applied to the actual term of imprisonment imposed, not including any portion of the sentence which has been suspended. A person is eligible for work release if the person is sentenced for voluntary manslaughter (Section 16-3-50), kidnapping (Section 16-3-910), carjacking (Section 16-3-1075), burglary in the second degree (Section 16-11-312(B)), armed robbery (Section 16-11-330(A)), or attempted armed robbery (Section 16-11-330(B)), the crime did not involve any criminal sexual conduct or an additional violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, and the person is within three years of release from imprisonment. Except as provided in this subsection, nothing in this section may be construed to allow an inmate convicted of murder or an inmate prohibited from participating in work release by another provision of law to be eligible for work release.
(B) If an inmate sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections and confined in a facility of the department, confined in a local facility pursuant to a designated facility agreement authorized by Section 24-3-20 or Section 24-3-30, or temporarily confined, held, detained, or placed in a facility which is not under the direct control of the department, to include an inmate on a labor crew or any other assigned detail or placement, or an inmate in transport status, commits an offense or violates one of the rules of the institution during his term of imprisonment, all or part of the credit he has earned may be forfeited in the discretion of the Director of the Department of Corrections. If an inmate sentenced to a local detention facility or upon the public works of any county in this State, even when temporarily confined, held, detained, or placed in any facility which is not under the direct control of the local detention facility, to include an inmate on a labor crew or any other assigned detail or placement, or an inmate in transport status, commits an offense or violates one of the rules of the local detention facility during his term of imprisonment, all or part of the credit he has earned may be forfeited in the discretion of the local official having charge of the inmate. The decision to withhold credits is solely the responsibility of officials named in this subsection.
HISTORY: 1995 Act No. 83, Section 2; 2010 Act No. 273, Section 28, eff June 2, 2010; 2010 Act No. 237, Section 70, eff June 11, 2010.
Effect of Amendment
The first 2010 amendment rewrote subsection (A).
The second 2010 amendment rewrote the section.