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When my sister was murdered in 2003, she was killed by an intentionally set house fire. The women who murdered my sister received a 25-year sentence for killing her. They also received 25 years for burning her house.
The sentences would be served at the same time and they would only have to serve about 85 percent of the sentence. In other words, they would only have to serve a little more than 21 years for killing my sister and burning her house. They were not eligible for the death penalty because arson was not considered a weapon used in a violent crime.

I’ve been struggling with a way to best summarize my first month as a new Congressman.  After all, it has been extraordinarily busy at many levels, from committee assignments to our first meetings, to getting our first district office open, to starting the weekly commute back and forth (and the special fun of trying to fly home during a blizzard).  

When I was elected sheriff two years ago, I set out to accomplish an ambitious set of goals.
Now that I’ve reached the mid-point of my first term, I think it is only appropriate to issue an update on the progress we have made to date. Based on the scope and implementation requirements, these goals were categorized as either short or long term, but the basis for all of them was accountability, improved service and professionalism.

Last week, your S.C. House of Representatives went back to work at the State House. It is notable that we unanimously passed our first agenda item, on-the-record roll call voting, and witnessed history as our former colleague, Nikki Haley, became the first female governor of our state.