Stirling, 102220 SCAGO, AGO 2372
Case Date | October 22, 2020 |
Court | South Carolina |
I write to you to request an opinion regarding the interpretation of S.C. Code § 24-3-950, entitled "Contraband." Specifically, with regard to an offense charged under this statute as an attempt crime, is an element of the offense that the violation must physically occur on SCDC property? [Your letter quotes section 24-3-950, set out in full later in this opinion.]
S.C. Code § 24-3-950 does not state any requirement that an offense occur on SCDC property. The statute does, however, criminalize an "attempt to furnish" contraband to prisoners. Therefore, I am respectfully requesting your opinion regarding whether an attempt crime under the contraband statute must occur on SCDC property. This is a significant issue for SCDC due to the increasing number of methods individuals use to introduce contraband into our prisons.Law/Analysis: It is the opinion of this Office that S.C. Code § 24-3-950 does not require that an attempt crime under that section must physically occur on SCDC property as an element of the offense. Your letter quotes section 24-3-950, which reads in full:
It shall be unlawful for any person to furnish or attempt to furnish any prisoner under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections with any matter declared by the director to be contraband. It shall also be unlawful for any prisoner under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections to possess any matter declared to be contraband. Matters considered contraband within the meaning of this section shall be those which are determined to be such by the director and published by him in a conspicuous place available to visitors and inmates at each correctional institution. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisonment...
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