Former state prisons director tapped as new U.S. Attorney for South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) — Bryan Stirling, who led the state corrections department for more than a decade, has been named the new U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina.

Stirling took the oath of office in a private ceremony Monday at the U.S. District Courthouse, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He replaces former U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs, who was removed by the Trump administration in February. Brook Andrews was serving in the interim role.

Stirling was appointed the director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) by then-Gov. Nikki Haley in 2013. In that role, he oversaw thousands of employees who care for more than 16,000 inmates in the state’s 21 prisons.

Governor Henry McMaster announced Monday that Stirling was stepping down from the position. Joel Anderson, who has served as SCDC’s deputy director for operations since 2019, will take over as acting director.

“Director Bryan Stirling is widely recognized as the best corrections director in the country, and his relentless spirit has turned SCDC into a model for other states to follow,” McMaster said in a statement. “He revolutionized South Carolina’s reentry programs, resulting in the lowest recidivism rate in the country, and his efforts to combat contraband cell phones have made all our communities safer.”

Stirling graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1996 and worked as deputy attorney general and Haley’s chief of staff before joining the corrections department.

As U.S. Attorney, he will be responsible for overseeing a team of 120 prosecutors in four offices that handle federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation.