22 November 2010 :

An Edgefield County jury sentenced Steven Louis Barnes, 31, black, to death for the September 3, 2001 murder of 16-year-old Samuel J. Sturrup Jr.. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Judge Knox McMahon with a date of January 16, 2011 for the sentence to be carried out. Although this date was set, appeals by Barnes may take years. Barnes is already serving a life sentence in Georgia for kidnapping in 2001. Barnes formerly ran an escort prostitution ring in Augusta. Five others have been charged with Sturrup's murder.

03 April 2010 :

Edward Lee Elmore has been re-sentenced to life in prison. Elmore, 51, black, went on death row in April 1982, three months after he was arrested and charged with the sexual assault and murder of Dorothy Edwards, a 75-year-old woman. On Feb. 4 Circuit Judge Mark Hayes ruled that Elmore cannot be executed because he is mentally retarded. He vacated the death sentence and remanded the imposition of a life sentence to General Sessions court of the 8th Judicial Circuit, and today the new sentence has been officially imposed.

19 February 2010 :

An Anderson County jury has sentenced Raymondeze Rivera to death. Rivera, 31, black, was convicted last week of 1st-degree murder in Kwana Burns’ Dec. 13, 2006 death. Burns was 28, and black. Rivera had confessed to police, and pleaded guilty in court, but asked to be sentenced to death. "I have already decided my judgment," Rivera said. "I wanted the death penalty. Since 2006, this is what I wanted, all along". Rivera is already serving a life sentence for killing Asha Wiley, 27, black. Rivera was convicted in 2008 of killing Wiley. She was found dead in her apartment 2 days before Burns was killed. Judge Alexander Macaulay set the execution for April 19, but capital cases are automatically appealed in South Carolina.

08 February 2010 :

In a 22-page order filed today in Greenwood County Circuit Court, Judge J. Mark Hayes II ordered that Edward Lee Elmore cannot be executed because he is mentally retarded. Elmore, 51, black, is the inmate who has been on South Carolina's death row longer than any of its other current inhabitants. He went on death row in April 1982, three months after he was arrested and charged with the sexual assault and murder of Dorothy Edwards, a 75-year-old woman. Defense attorneys appealed for post-conviction relief . During a hearing held at Broad River Correctional Institute this past May, they said Elmore is mentally retarded, and his execution would be unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Mark Hayes took 2 days of testimony in May and ruled this week that Elmore is mentally retarded as defined by the state. He vacated the death sentence and remanded the imposition of a life sentence to General Sessions court of the 8th Judicial Circuit. The Attorney General's Office has up to 30 days to decide whether it wants to appeal the order.