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S.C. Code Ann. § 24-19-50

Powers of courts upon conviction of youthful offenders

Known as the Judge William R. Byars Youthful Offender Act

The act spans §§ 24–24 (17 sections).

Applied in 15 court decisions — leading case Gay v. Ariail (2009)

Most recently applied in United States v. Dominicus Sitton (January 2022)

1962 Code SECTION 55-395; 1968 (55) 3031; 1996 Act No. 441, SECTION 5.

How often courts cite this section

19801990200020102020202220
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

In the event of a conviction of a youthful offender the court may:

(1) suspend the sentence and place the youthful offender on probation;

(2) release the youthful offender to the custody of the division before sentencing for an observation and evaluation period of not more than sixty days. The observation and evaluation must be conducted by the Reception and Evaluation Center operating under joint agreement between the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Corrections and the findings and recommendations for sentencing must be returned with the youthful offender to the court for sentencing;

(3) if the offender is under the age of twenty-one, without his consent, sentence the youthful offender indefinitely to the custody of the department for treatment and supervision pursuant to this chapter until discharged by the division, the period of custody not to exceed six years. If the offender is twenty-one years of age but less than twenty-five years of age, he may be sentenced in accordance with this item if he consents in writing;

(4) if the court finds that the youthful offender will not derive benefit from treatment, may sentence the youthful offender under any other applicable penalty provision. The youthful offender must be placed in the custody of the department;

(5) not sentence a youthful offender more than once under this chapter.

Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.