Former prison guard poses as inmate’s sister to visit convicted killer, officials say

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) - A former corrections officer reportedly tried to visit a convicted killer in prison after retiring.

According to Chrysti Shain, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections, the former guard named Asia Love applied to see prisoner Jeroid John Price in May 2012.

Love worked as a prison guard for the department from March 2006 to October 2011. But she did not mention that in the application, according to WCSC.

Instead, Love listed she was Price’s sister and according to officials this was a lie, and her request was denied.

Price was sent to prison back in 2002 for the murder of Carl “Dash” Smalls Jr., a former college football player.

The corrections department released Price last month, serving nearly 20 years of his 35-year sentence, with the South Carolina Supreme Court unsealing documents related to his early release.

According to court documents, Love had previously written that a fellow corrections officer wanted Price to “receive an award” for “saving her life” in 2010. Price reportedly tackled another inmate to the ground after that person escaped from their cell and attempted to attack the guard with a broomstick.

Court documents also stated that Price helped the corrections department by putting officers “on notice” about a dangerous inmate who had escaped in 2017.

Shain said they were informed about that inmate’s escape indirectly from Price.

Questions regarding Price’s early release continue as the state attorney general is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court for a bench warrant to put him back in prison.

Attorney General Alan Wilson claims “proper procedure” did not happen in Price’s release.

The order to release Price was signed by Judge Casey Manning. WCSC reports that Manning is no longer listed on the active South Carolina Supreme Court circuit court roster.

Copyright 2023 WCSC via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.