Latest news with #SCETV
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
SC is only state without specific crimes for strangulation. A bill aims to change that.
Brian Bennett, a retired officer of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and advocate for strangulation laws, testifies in front of a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) COLUMBIA— Strangulation is among the most common types of abuse in domestic violence situations. Yet, South Carolina is the only state without specific penalties for the crime. A Senate proposal seeks to change that. Restricting someone's ability to breathe with the intent to hurt them would be punishable by between three and 10 years in prison under the proposal which passed unanimously out of committee Tuesday to be taken up on the Senate floor. Penalties climb as high as 20 years in prison when someone uses a weapon, violates a restraining order or has a prior strangulation convection. If passed in the Senate, the bill will still have to go through the legislative process in the House. Meanwhile only five legislative days remain in the first year of the two-year session. When it was her turn to speak in favor of the bill, Lauren Moose, a forensic nurse examiner at McLeod Health in Florence, asked a Senate panel to set a timer for 2 ½ minutes and stay silent. That's the amount of time it takes to kill someone by strangling them, she explained. 'Think about somebody sitting there, literally watching somebody's life exit their hands,' she said. Domestic violence victims in SC can wait weeks for legal protections The Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention says between 68% and 80% of abused women will experience 'near-fatal strangulation.' And the likelihood of being killed by your partner is 10 times higher if they've strangled you, the National Domestic Violence Hotline says on its website. South Carolina has a long history of domestic violence, particularly against women. For a quarter century, the state was consistently in the top 10 nationally in the murder rate for women killed by men, according to the Violence Policy Center. While the center no longer rates states, South Carolina still outpaced the national rate. In 2022, the most recent year of data available, 56 female victims were killed by men in the state. The state still has the sixth-highest rate of domestic violence in the country, according to Break the Cycle, a nonprofit dedicated to helping survivors of domestic violence. A Senator on the committee said he's seen what strangulation can do firsthand. Sen. Ed Sutton, D-Charleston, said his cousin was the victim of domestic violence in which her abuser strangled her. After the attack, she continued to have long-term breathing issues. Tori Burke died in 2021, a year later, after contracting COVID-19, leaving behind two daughters. 'This is a pretty awful crime and a pretty awful thing for a family to go through,' he said. Still, others questioned whether the law was necessary, arguing these crimes already fall under assault. Freshman Sen. J.D. Chaplin said he worries the bill is excessive. 'Why do we need something for strangulation?' the Hartsville Republican asked. Hundreds of girls in SC are trafficking victims. A Columbia nonprofit offers help for survivors. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he supported 'the overall context of protecting domestic violence victims and anyone else from strangulation' but wanted to know whether it would affect police trying to restrain a suspect. The bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Brian Adams, responded to questions saying strangulation tends to be more violent than a typical assault. Plus, the state Legislature already passed a law in the aftermath of George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers in Minnesota, the Goose Creek Republican reminded his fellow senators. That law banning the use of chokeholds except in a situation where deadly force would be reasonable went into effect on New Years Day 2023. The proposed strangulation charge would actually help law enforcement, according to Adams, who is a retired police officer. Cases involving strangulation tend to result in either low or medium-level assault charges, Brian Bennett, a retired officer of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, told the SC Daily Gazette. 'No law for strangulation means it can be minimized,' said Bennett, who has been advocating for strangulation laws for a decade. The bill would make strangulation a felony with significant prison time, which Bennett said better fits a crime where the effects tend to be long-lasting. It also would make it easier to track how prevalent the crime is in the state. There have been multiple bills filed in recent years to create strangulation charges, including a House proposal filed back in December before this year's session. None have gotten significant traction. Bennett has begged legislators to consider each one, with no success. Yet, he's felt the pleas slowly create awareness within the Statehouse, he said. 'I think they are more receptive than they were in the past,' he said. 'It's like every session we gain ground.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As maternal mortality rises, SC report suggests ways of increasing health care access
Lisa Waddell, chair of a task force that evaluated maternal mortality and solutions, speaks to reporters at SCETV on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — The rate at which South Carolina women died because of pregnancy complications spiked in 2021, following years of decline, according to an analysis of the most recent data released Tuesday. More rural health care, group doctor's appointments and telehealth could help reduce the number of health issues women experience during and after pregnancy, suggests a report by the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health. Better and more accessible health care could have prevented nearly 90% of pregnancy-related deaths in 2021, the latest year evaluated, the report found. 'We know that we have an infant and maternal mortality crisis in our state,' said Lisa Waddell, chair of the taskforce that wrote the report. 'Moms are dying unnecessarily. Infants continue to die and don't survive until their first year of life. And there are things that we can do.' In 2021, 47 of every 100,000 live births in the state resulted in the mother's deaths before, during or after delivery, according to a state committee's analysis. The data consistently lags about three years. For Black women, that ratio was nearly 72 for every 100,000 births. For white women, it was about 37. That's an increase from 2020, when the statewide maternal mortality rate was 32 for every 100,000 births. While maternal mortality rates for Black mothers steadily increased for at least four years, the rate for white mothers dropped from 2018 to 2020 before spiking again in 2021, according to committee data. The exact reasons why are not clear because so many factors play into maternal mortality, said Maya Pack, executive director of the Institute of Medicine and Public Health. But it seems like spikes in COVID-19, which complicated risk factors already associated with pregnancy, contributed to the increase, Waddell said. Between 2018 and 2021, the No. 1 cause of maternal deaths was infection, specifically from COVID-19, according to the report. Despite emerging in 2020, COVID-19 accounted for nearly 14% of deaths for pregnant women and new mothers during those four years, the report found. With the virus being less of a concern, the hope is that the ratio of maternal deaths caused by COVID-19 infections has decreased in recent years, Waddell said. Even in that case, though, the maternal mortality rate remains much higher than it should be, Pack said. For years, the state has consistently scored among the worst in the country for maternal and infant health. 'The persistence of this problem is really troubling,' Pack said. Part of the problem is that pregnancy often exacerbates a woman's existing health issues. For instance, if a woman has diabetes before becoming pregnant, as about one-third of people in the state do, that can cause life-threatening issues during pregnancy, according to the report. 'If we could promote healthier lifestyles and healthier communities throughout our state at all times, the women who are going to become pregnant are going to be more likely to be healthy and therefore have a healthier pregnancy and have a healthier baby,' Pack said. Women in rural areas, where health care is less accessible, are especially at risk, the report found. Some women must travel upwards of an hour to reach the closest birthing hospital or obstetrician and gynecologist. Since 2012, 13 labor and delivery units have closed in the state, and about one quarter of hospitals don't offer obstetric care, according to the report. 'The farther a woman travels to their birthing hospital, the greater the risk of maternal morbidity outcomes,' the report states. Women in rural areas are also less likely to have health insurance and to be able to afford prenatal and postpartum care. That translates to less revenue for the medical services that do exist in rural areas, causing fewer to locate there and worsening the problem, according to the report. Health issues for rural women often come at a high cost to the state. Rural women are more likely to use Medicaid to pay for health care services, with the state-funded health insurance covering 71% of rural deliveries compared to 60% statewide, according to the report. Increased Medicaid costs for maternal health, especially for emergency services on which women in rural areas often rely, amounted to about $357 million in 2019, according to the report. 'This is a great state to live in, but we need to ensure that our mothers are safe, that our infants are surviving,' Waddell said. 'Anything less than that is not OK.' Some solutions are already in place to help pregnant women and new mothers access health care. In January, the state Medicaid agency received a $17 million grant, to be handed out over the coming decade, 'to invest in improving maternal health care for South Carolinians enrolled in the Health Connections Medicaid program,' according to the report. The Department of Public Health is expected to launch mobile maternal health clinics over the summer in an effort to help reach women in rural areas without other nearby care. Expanding programs already in place could address part of the problem, Pack said. Some programs have seen good results but operate only in specific cities or counties, she said. Those organizations could also use more resources to increase awareness of services for mothers who may not know they have other options, she said. 'Understanding the resources available to one's family at the community level is a big part of that health literacy,' Pack said. Even as health professionals faced rising maternal mortality rates, the prevalence of programs trying to address the problems give researchers hope, they said Tuesday. That shows people are aware of the problem and trying to help, Waddell said. Still, there's more to be done. The report makes a dozen recommendations to help increase access to care, bolster the health care workforce and teach both doctors and patients more about maternal care, including other risk factors, such as mental health and substance use issues. For instance, a grant program similar to the one the state's Medicaid agency used to encourage hospitals to open more behavioral health care units could similarly increase maternal care in areas that need it, according to the report. Group prenatal classes could encourage women to keep up with their appointments and be more engaged with their care. Opening maternal-specific care units in existing public health departments could create more access, even if it's somewhat limited, the report suggests. Dedicated transportation systems could help rural women reach health care providers, while more telehealth could allow women in rural areas to chat with their doctors without having to find a way to get to the office, the report suggests. 'All of these various programs that are being recommended will make a difference,' Waddell said. 'I'm convinced that they will. We've got a lot of energy, optimism and excitement around really wanting to do things that are better for women and infants in our state, and I'm convinced that this report will help.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SC Senate votes to remove state treasurer over $1.8B accounting error
South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis defends himself during an eight-hour hearing in the state Senate Monday, April 21, 2025, amid efforts to remove the Republican from office. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream.) COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Senate voted late Monday to remove state Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for his role in a $1.8 billion accounting error that went unreported for nearly a decade. By a vote of 33 to 8, with five senators absent, the Republican-controlled Senate used an obscure constitutional measure to do something never done before in South Carolina history — remove an elected official from office — in this case one who is a member of the majority's own party. All eight votes against removal were cast by Republicans. But senators don't have the authority to remove Loftis on their own. The House would also need to approve his removal by a two-thirds majority, which would then require Gov. Henry McMaster to take the official action. And Republican leaders in the House have not said whether they will take up the case. South Carolina's accounting problems, which involved almost no actual money, stem from the changeover from the state's legacy accounting system to a new one. During that process, a series of electronic ledger entries made it appear the state had $1.8 billion sitting untouched in a fund with no record of where it was supposed to go. A forensic accounting firm hired by the state ultimately found the entries were made in error and all but $200 million of the money was never real. But what seemed to frustrate senators the most is that the state's financial officials never alerted the General Assembly to the issue. Two Republican members of the panel that has spent the last year investigating the matter argued the treasurer was incompetent, untrustworthy and 'willfully neglected his duties' when he failed to report the mistakes to legislators. 'When he was faced with a $1.8 billion anomaly that remained in state records for years and years and years, he failed to detect it, he failed to report it, and when questioned, he failed to tell the truth about it,' said Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet. 'This was not momentary oversight or a technical misunderstanding by any means,' he said. 'It was a sustained failure of judgment, of duty and of candor.' Questions from senators, Republicans and Democrats both, were largely focused on what the treasurer knew when and why he had not taken responsibility for his role. 'It makes it so difficult for me to tell my neighbor … It is so hard to defend,' Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, said to Loftis. 'Help me. Help us. Accept the responsibility.' In response, Loftis said, 'Tell me what you want me to accept responsibility for, because it's complicated.' Throughout the process, Loftis has maintained he did nothing wrong and instead laid the blame for the error outside his office. No money went missing, he has argued, and the whole investigation amounted to nothing more than political theater. Lawyers representing the treasurer opened their arguments with a photo of Loftis and Republican President Donald Trump. They pointed to his winning track record — four terms in office — and he is now making his case to voters again, 14 months ahead of the Republican primary. 'Our democracy was built by letting issues like this be decided at the ballot box.' said attorney Deborah Barbier. The legal team went on to remind many of the 34 Republicans in the 46-member Senate that they represent GOP-dominated districts. The voters who elected them also likely cast their ballot for Loftis, said attorney Johnny Gasser, and choosing to remove Loftis amounted to telling residents their vote didn't matter. 'Do you really want to go down this path today?' Gasser asked. But Sen. Larry Grooms, who has led the investigation, contended Loftis had not behaved like the treasurer voters believed they had elected in 2022 or any of the previous election years. Loftis, he said, decided 'protecting his public image was much more important than faithfully executing the duties of Office of State Treasurer.' 'Now that he's been outed, now that his secret is exposed, now that sunlight is shining upon him and his failures, he is a different person,' added the Bonneau Beach Republican. 'This Curtis Loftis is a liability to the finances of our state.' And while the accounting error itself involved almost no real money, that hasn't stopped the state from racking up bills trying to get to the bottom of the problem. 'The self-proclaimed 'best friend of the taxpayer' is costing the taxpayers tens of millions in legal, auditing and oversight fees,' Grooms said. 'And these costs to the taxpayer are just beginning. With friends like this, who needs tax-and-spend liberals.' Lofits did acknowledge his actions may have fallen short of expectations at times and promised to do a better job in the future. 'My passion for fighting what I perceive to be injustice may have been inappropriate, but my intent was always to do the honorable thing,' he told the Senate. 'I hope all of us in this room agree that we should rise above the moment and return our focus to what matters — serving the people of South Carolina with honor, respect and purpose.' For many, it was too little, too late. 'If your banker has a $1.8 billion error in your account, what do you do?' Goldfinch said. 'At the end of the day, you go get a different banker.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
After record number of SC police dogs killed, bill would increase penalties
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott holds up a photo of Fargo, a police dog killed during a shootout in 2011, during a Senate subcommittee meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) COLUMBIA — After a burglary suspect shot police dog Coba to death last June, prosecutors wanted to put the perpetrator in prison for as long as possible. The man was sentenced to 33 years, but only five of those were for killing Coba, said David Stumbo, the solicitor who prosecuted the case in Newberry County. 'We didn't believe that five years was nearly enough time,' Stumbo told a panel of legislators Tuesday. Police dogs killed in the line of duty in 2024 Coba, a State Law Enforcement Division dog, was shot and killed June 11 while officers served a warrant. Wick, a Richland County Sheriff's dog, was struck by a car June 20 while chasing a suspect across a highway. Mikka, a Lee County Sheriff's dog, died after the patrol car she was in caught fire Sept. 20 during a shootout. Kodak, a Richland County Sheriff's dog, died Oct. 10 from injuries he received from getting tangled in a razor wire fence while tracking a suspect. Bumi, a Richland County Sheriff's dog, was shot and killed Dec. 23 during a police chase. Source: Officer Down Memorial Page Coba was one of five police dogs killed in the line of duty last year, an all-time high for the state, according to Officer Down, which tracks law enforcement deaths. A bill senators advanced to the floor Tuesday by a unanimous vote would increase the potential fines and prison time for anyone who kills or injures a police dog or horse in South Carolina. The existing penalty for killing a police dog or horse is up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. That's not nearly enough to show the state is serious about protecting its police dogs, said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. His department lost three police dogs in the line of duty last year, the most of any county. 'Unfortunately, the penalty for killing these dogs, for injuring these dogs, is very minimal,' Lott said. Under the proposal, killing a four-legged officer could come with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $20,000. Injuring one would be punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 fine. 'This protection is what's deserved for these canines,' said John Blackmon, president of the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. 'We owe them a debt, and this protection is that debt.' Police dogs often save the lives of police officers by going into situations too dangerous for a person or pulling attention away from their handlers, law enforcement officers said. Lott pointed to Sgt. Warren Cavanagh, who credits his Belgian Malinois, Fargo, with saving his life by taking bullets meant for him during a 2011 shootout. Fargo was the first police dog killed in the state, Lott said. Police dogs can sniff out drugs and explosives, find the source of arson and take down suspects on the run, said Greenville Sheriff Hobart Lewis. They typically live with their handlers, allowing them to bond both on and off the clock, he said. 160 dogs rescued from dogfighting ring in Marion, Dillon counties 'These dogs are certainly more than just a tool,' Lewis said. 'They're law enforcement officers. In our case, they're deputies. They're partners. They're family.' The dogs are not like other pets, Lewis said. They go through a strict selection process and upwards of 600 hours of training to get ready for duty, he said. That means the dogs are costly to replace. A dog straight out of handler school — not even fully trained for duty — costs at least $12,500, Lewis said. Other law enforcement agencies, such as Horry County, have reported spending as much as $18,000 for a single police dog, according to a review of the bill by the state's fiscal experts. 'These animals represent a significant investment of time, money and training,' Lewis said. Law enforcement officers have seen an increase in violence directed toward police dogs in the past year, officers told the committee. Along with the record number of dogs killed, law enforcement agencies have had an unknown number of dogs hurt while on duty, Lewis said. Among them was Micky, a Greenville County police dog stabbed repeatedly while deputies attempted to serve a warrant last June, Lewis said. 'These aren't rare cases anymore,' Lewis said. 'They are becoming more and more common, and that should alarm us all.' When he was a police officer in Goose Creek and North Charleston, Sen. Brian Adams knew to stay behind the police dogs when they were on assignment together. He was afraid of what he knew they could do, but he also saw how much they helped their handlers, said Adams, the bill's sponsor, who's retired from law enforcement. 'They are a great tool and a great partner for our canine handlers,' the Goose Creek Republican said.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawsuit prompts bill changing ‘racial quota' rules for SC's minority affairs board
Chief Michelle Mitchum of South Carolina's Pine Hill Indian community testified Tuesday, April 8, 2025, before a Senate panel in favor of legislation to remove from state law a requirement that a majority of the governing board for the state Commission for Minority Affairs be African American. Mitchum is one of two plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) COLUMBIA — A pair of senators wants to remove a provision in state law that requires South Carolina's Commission for Minority Affairs to have a majority-Black governing board. The bill comes in the wake of a federal lawsuit filed by two women who say they were denied a spot on the commission when they sought to represent other minority groups. It's co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, a white Republican from Edgefield, and Sen. Darrell Jackson, a Black Democrat from Hopkins. A Senate panel voted unanimously Tuesday to advance the bill to the full Senate Judiciary Committee. Half of the six 'yes' votes came from Black legislators. Sandy Chiong, a Myrtle Beach-area woman of Chinese and Cuban heritage, was the first to file suit in December seeking a seat on the commission's governing board. The commission's governing board is made up of one person from each of South Carolina's seven congressional districts, as well as two at-large seats and the governor or his designee. The specification in the 1993 law that most of the board's nine members 'must be African American' violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, the lawsuit claimed. SC woman sues over 'racial quota' for minority affairs board 'In America, government positions are supposed to be open to all citizens — not restricted to members of favored groups,' Chiong's lawyers wrote in court documents. 'A racial quota prevents her from being considered for a position on an equal basis with other candidates.' Chief Michelle Mitchum of South Carolina's Pine Hill Indian community later joined the lawsuit. Pine Hill, whose members once inhabited what became the U.S. Army's Fort Jackson, is not a federal- or state-recognized tribe. However, South Carolina does recognize it as a special interest organization led by Mitchum. A Senate panel heard from Mitchum on Tuesday, as well as from the director of the small state agency, Delores Dacosta. Both women spoke in favor of the bill. When the Legislature established the Commission for Minority Affairs, the agency focused on addressing 'inequities impacting African American communities,' hence the legislative mandate that its membership reflect the population it was formed to serve. In 2003, its scope was broadened to include Asian Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, and Native Americans, according to agency documents. But the language governing the board's makeup remained in place. 'We support this change to allow for the selection of commissioners to reflect the populations that we serve,' Dacosta said. The agency holds community and networking events for minority businesspeople in the state. It also puts out research each year tracking the growth of minority populations — where they're living in South Carolina, where their children go to school, and their average income compared to the overall population — as well as disparities when it comes to health and affordable housing. 'I don't see where this is going to hurt the commission,' Dacosta said about the bill. 'As a matter of fact, I think it's going to benefit because we have grown so much.' Dacosta said when she started as head of the agency in 2018, it employed just nine people, six of those full time. Today, the agency has 24 employees. 'Our research is so broad … we need to see different faces on the board,' Dacosta added. The legislation strikes language in the law relating to Black board members without replacing it with any new racial requirements for the commissioners. Mitchum told senators they should instead set new criteria for minority membership, though she didn't give any suggestions. 'I would like for you to replace the language — not just strike it,' she said. 'Don't respond to a lawsuit. Actually represent the minority population; actually lift our voice.' Black residents are the largest racial minority in South Carolina, at 26% of the state population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Hispanic residents make up 7.5% of the population, followed by 2% Asian and less than 1% Native American. Chiong, who is the daughter of Cuban immigrants and is of Chinese, Cuban, and Spanish descent, did not come to Columbia to testify. Five of the board's six current members are Black. Vacancies are in the 3rd District, which runs from Edgefield County to the state's northwestern corner; the 4th District, which includes most of Greenville and Spartanburg counties; and one at-large member. Two board members are serving past the expiration of their term in what's known as holdover status, including the representative for the 7th District, where Chiong lives. Dacosta said the commission has pending applications for two board appointments — the vacant 4th District seat and the expired term in the 6th District — and is 'waiting to fill the other slots.' The governor's office also is in the process of nominating someone to fill the vacant 3rd District seat, spokesman Brandon Charochak said. Four members of the commission are serving active terms. But three of their terms expire in July, according to the lawsuit.
