Court Opinion

ID: 9624209
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:54:12.032612+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:41.168926
License: Public Domain

FINNEY, Chief Justice:
I write separately to explain that while I have decided to concur in the result reached here, I do so with great reluctance. I join the majority only because we need to bring finality to this confused area of the law, and not because I agree with the method chosen here. In my view, the majority opinion is fundamentally flawed in that it simply ignores the third clause of S.C.Code Ann. § 17-27-20(a)(5) (1985), which provides for a post-conviction relief action to be brought by one claiming that “... he is otherwise unlawfully held in custody or other restraint.” Without doubt, this provision encompasses claims such as those brought by petitioner and other inmates challenging conditions of confinement. In the interest of judicial harmony, however, I reluctantly concur in the result reached by the majority.