SC Bill would raise age of homicide by child abuse

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – Lawmakers are hoping to add some teeth to a bill that’s meant to protect children from abuse.

For homicide by child abuse cases, the bill would raise the age of protection from 11 years, all the way up to 18 years old.

“It’s kind of a gray area as to how to treat the criminal who’s charged and ultimately convicted of that death,” said previous sponsor, Senator Luke Rankin (R – Horry County).

The Homicide by Child Abuse Bill was discussed in a Senate Subcommittee Meeting and defines child abuse as being either physical or caused by neglect.

David Stumbo, solicitor for the 8th Judicial Circuit, said he prosecuted a case involving a Fountain Inn family last fall that could have been helped by the proposed law.

Stumbo said 12-year-old Ashantae Glenn, a child with special needs, suffered severe medical neglect and injuries over a long period of time.

“They didn’t feed her properly, there were some injuries, but they were mild injuries that we couldn’t prove a malice case, said Stumbo. “So, essentially, senators, we need 405 to protect victims like Ashantae Glenn.”

Since Glenn was above the age of eleven, Stumbo said she wasn’t protected under the current homicide by child abuse law. He had to reluctantly negotiate that Glenn’s abusers, her mother and stepfather, would only receive ten years in prison.

“That was the most we could get on the case that we could prove at the time. If this bill were passed and we had that in play at that point, we could have easily argued to a jury the acts or omissions element of homicide by child abuse,” Stumbo said.

Senator Rankin said this bill has been unanimously passed before in the Senate and expects the same this time around.

“It is a difficult conversation for them to have with the victim’s family to explain why they can’t go for this charge directly by homicide and have to walk around, a guilty plea or other charges,” Rankin said.

Stumbo said there are many other cases like Ashantae’s and calls passing this bill a “no-brainer.”

Senator Rankin said he expects this bill to come out of the Senate Judiciary Full Committee at the next meeting.