South Carolina Laws and Programs

Drug Sentencing

South Carolina maintains a complex statutory framework for sanctioning drug law violators, who are subject to severe mandatory minimum, three-strike, and truth-in-sentencing provisions. Penalties are primarily tied to the quantity of drugs and the number of previous drug convictions. Quantity triggers, which tend to be low, control whether the offense is considered possession, possession with intent to distribute (PWID), or trafficking. For example, possession of 130 milligrams of heroin, 650 milligrams of cocaine, one gram of methamphetamine, and one ounce of marijuana constitutes prima facie guilt of PWID under South Carolina law. The quantity triggers for trafficking offenses are similarly low: four grams of heroin, 10 grams of cocaine or methamphetamine, and one pound [Page 736]of marijuana. All drug trafficking offenses, which carry mandatory minimum terms of one to seven years, contain additional quantity triggers that greatly increase sentences. A first-offense conviction for trafficking 10–28 grams of cocaine, for instance, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three years, whereas trafficking 100 or more grams carries a 25-year minimum. The statutory framework also increases sentences in stepped fashion for subsequent drug violations. For example, second and third convictions for trafficking 10 to 28 grams of cocaine carry five-year and 25-year mandatory minimum sentences, respectively.

South Carolina severely restricts alternative sentences and early release for most PWID and trafficking offenses. Offenders convicted of a second or subsequent PWID offense, which can carry minimum sentences of three to five years, are ineligible to receive either probation or a suspended sentence. Most PWID/trafficking crimes are also deemed “no parole” offenses under the state's truth-in-sentencing law, which requires a minimum of 85 percent time served before parole eligibility. In addition, upon a third conviction for a violent crime, which includes drug trafficking under South Carolina statute, the state's three-strikes law mandates life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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