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Attorney general Alan Wilson – South Carolina’s top prosecutor – sent a letter to Palmetto State solicitors this week urging them to take advantage of bond laws which let them hold illegal aliens charged with committing crimes.
The letter also pleaded with solicitors to leverage the provisions of new and existing statutes to crack down on the “catch and release” of violent criminals – a pattern of injustice that has plagued public safety in the Palmetto State for years.
“We have laws that should prevent the catch and release of repeat criminals and hold illegal immigrants charged with crime,” Wilson wrote to South Carolina’s sixteen solicitors. “It’s up to us to ensure they’re properly enforced.”
Wilson’s letter credited the S.C. General Assembly with passing “serious meaningful bond reform” in 2023 – and challenged solicitors to “ensure that it is implemented properly.”
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Last year’s bond reform law – Act 83 of 2023 – created a new charge for individuals who commit violent crime while out on bond, established an automatic bond revocation process for those who commit violent offenses or firearm offenses while out on bond and upgraded the state’s electronic monitoring standards.
Frankly, these reforms were long-overdue …
Just as there is no excuse for releasing a repeat violent offender on bond, there is no excuse for releasing someone whom it has been determined entered the country illegally.
“South Carolina requires lawful immigration status as a consideration for the court when determining (whether) to deny bond,” Wilson wrote, asking solicitors to “remind your prosecutors about the above provisions and call the courts’ attention to (them) when necessary and applicable.”
(Click to View)
In urging judges to deny bond for illegal aliens, Wilson cited the case of Laken Riley – a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student from Woodstock, Georgia. Riley was murdered on the campus of the University of Georgia on the morning of Thursday, February 22, 2024. Police have accused 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra – an illegal alien and suspected gang member from Venezuela – of committing the murder.
“Before he murdered Riley, Ibarra was arrested and released several times for allegedly shoplifting in Georgia and felony child endangerment in New York,” Wilson wrote. “He sailed to appear for his Georgia court appearance, and there was a bench warrant for his arrest at the time of (Riley’s) murder.”
“If Ibarra were held and denied bond in Georgia, Laken Riley would still be alive,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson has previously advocated on behalf of federal legislation which would require the detention of any illegal alien accused of a larceny, burglary, theft or shoplifting offense.
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THE LETTER …
(S.C. Attorney General)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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