Upstate Senator Seeks to End Parole for Non-Violent Criminals

Upstate Sen. Larry Martin is proposing that non-violent criminals be denied parole. The move comes in the wake of the parole earlier this week of Carolina Investors chairman Jack Sterling, WSPA reported.

The Pickens County Republican considers the parole of Sterling disgraceful. Sterling was among a handful of executives from Pickens-based Carolina Investors and its Columbia-based parent, HomeGold Financial, who were convicted of defrauding investors and causing a $275 million bankruptcy, among the state's largest ever.



Investor Larry Madden, one of the company's victims, told the station: "It went from where we could have had anything we wanted, to now … we just live on a disability check and that's it." Madden said he's fully behind Martin's bill, which would require a non-violent convict to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

"The confidence in the system is somewhat shaken by the fact that someone who is sentenced to five years is all of a sudden released on parole in less than a year," Martin was quoted as saying.  

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