FORMER OPPONENT “SURPRISINGLY” DISAGREES

One of the biggest stories in statewide news Tuesday was Attorney General Henry McMaster’s announcement that he would push legislators to eliminate parole in South Carolina.

McMaster began a two-day trip around the state on Tuesday morning to announce his effort to abolish parole in the state.

McMaster first visited North Charleston, and then traveled to Columbia and Greenville. A stop in Horry County was planned for Wednesday.

McMaster says abolishing parole for all crimes will help people feel safer by giving them confidence that criminals will stay behind bars until they’ve completed their sentences. [...]

The United States Congress eliminated parole for inmates beginning in 1987, and Virginia did the same in 1994. In Virginia, the result has been an overall reduction in that state’s prison population growth. Between 1985 and 1995, Virginia’s prison population increased by 154 percent. Between 1995 and 2004, however, the prison population grew by only 31 percent. [BRYCE MURSCH - WIS-TV]

Here’s a clip from Tuesday’ 11 o’clock news package:

The No Parole bill will be pre-filed in the House by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison (Richland), and in the Senate by Sen. Larry Martin (Pickens). But Jon Ozmint, the Director of the state Department of Corrections, isn’t on board with the plan.

He told WIS, “Even under our current truth in sentencing and no parole laws, we need to increase funding to the Department of Corrections or implement changes to our sentencing structure, this year.” But is it truly the funding that worries Ozmint, or does he perhaps hold a bit of a grudge against McMaster?

After all, Ozmint did finish third to McMaster in the 2002 Republican primary race for attorney general; nearly 50,000 votes behind the current AG. And he did campaign against him in the runoff and then for Democrat Steve Benjamin in the general election. And he has recently come under fire from the attorney general’s office and SLED for possible illegal activities while overseeing the DOC.

But surely the state director of the DOC would be above such petty squabbles, right?

If Ozmint isn’t beyond playing these games though, then the real debate will almost certainly center around Gov. Mark Sanford and whether or not he agrees with Ozmint, who serves in the governor’s cabinet.