South Carolina Supreme Court upholds perjury conviction and prison sentence of ex-Rep. Harrison
COLUMBIA, SC -- Perjury charges and a prison sentence against powerful former state lawmaker Rep. Jim Harrison (R) of Richland County were upheld by the S.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The major import of the 36-page ruling — which included a main ruling and two sharply conflicting opinions by two different justices — is that Harrison will head off to state prison to begin serving an 18-month prison sentence.
Harrison will be the first state lawmaker in years to go to prison on corruption-related charges.
But he was just not any lawmaker — for years, he was the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and controlled the flow of much legislation through the House of Representatives.
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Under the high court’s Wednesday interpretation of Pascoe’s authority, it is likely that convictions of three of the former lawmakers — former House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston; former Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., R- Lexington; and former Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley — will stand.
Read more here: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article248628585.html#storylink=cpy
Read more: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article248628585.html