MurdererJeroid Price secretly freed early by retiring judge

A South Carolina man convicted of killing a football player was released 16 years early by a retiring judge, according to newly unsealed court documents.

Jeroid Price, 43 — who was found guilty and convicted in 2003 for fatally shooting Carl Smalls at a Columbia nightclub, a crime that carried a 35-year prison sentence — was released last month in an order secretly penned by outgoing Circuit Judge Casey Manning on his final day in office.

Price’s release may have been fueled by the murderer’s good deeds while imprisoned.

But the ruling was never approved by the area’s chief judge, which is required by law, nor was it signed with proper notification to the victim’s family.

Smalls’ sister Andrianne said she was heartbroken over the early release, which came just as the family was paying tribute to the 20th anniversary of the football player’s death.

“This right here is not fair,” she told WLTX. “Just finish up the 16 years that you have and be done, and we’ll go from there.”

Price, then a member of the Bloods street gang, reportedly shot Smalls for being affiliated with the rival Crips gang.

According to the newly released court documents, Price saved a prison guard from an attack by multiple inmates at the Lieber Correctional Institute.

One inmate told investigators that Price was “punished” for rescuing the officer.

While at the prison, Price reportedly saved yet another guard, Sally Fowler, who was being attacked by an inmate with a broomstick.

The guard reportedly vouched for Price to receive a “time reduction for saving her life.”

Price also alerted prison officials about the escape of convict Jimmy Lee Causey, who was in prison for holding his defense attorney and his family at gunpoint.

Price was being held in a New Mexico prison as part of an inmate transfer program before his release.

Despite the good deeds, state Attorney General Alan Wilson has called for Price, a father of five, to be put back in jail, arguing that the order to release him also violated a state law that calls for convicted murderers to serve at least 30 years behind bars.

“He absolutely should not have been released from prison, and we need to get him back behind bars as quickly as possible,” Wilson said in a statement. “While we are still unsure about several circumstances surrounding his release, we are certain Judge Manning’s order is void.”

While South Carolina law does allow for an early release for inmates who assist law enforcement, questions remain on why Manning’s order was sealed and required an appeal to the Supreme Court to release the information.

Manning is no longer listed on the active South Carolina Supreme Court circuit court roster and could not be immediately contacted for comment.

Price’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, condemned the calls to put his client back in prison, arguing that the unsealed documents have outed the man as an inmate who cooperates with police, effectively putting “a target on his back.”