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by WILL FOLKS
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A week after the ‘Murdaugh Murders‘ crime and corruption saga took center stage with convicted killer Alex Murdaugh‘s internationally watched appeals hearing before the South Carolina supreme court, another high stakes, high-profile legal drama unfolded on the Palmetto State’s coast.
This week’s big courtroom saga was a ‘Stand Your Ground’ immunity hearing in Horry County tied to the September 2023 shooting death of 33-year-old North Carolina insurance adjuster Scott Spivey. Following a week’s worth of shifting witness statements, disputed evidence and dueling narratives about the events surrounding Spivey’s death, S.C. circuit court judge Eugene C. Griffith, Jr. ultimately ruled that a wrongful death action against one of the two men who shot and killed Spivey, Charles Weldon Boyd, could proceed.
Griffin is still mulling whether civil ‘Stand Your Ground’ immunity could apply to the actions of Boyd’s co-defendant, Kenneth Bradley Williams.
In our first segment, research director Jenn Wood and I discussed the Spivey hearing in detail…
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In our second bloc, lead investigative reporter Andy Fancher and I talked about what would appear to be the final chapter in the sordid saga of prominent equestrian Rhett Riviere, a wealthy property owner from Aiken, S.C. whose name has become synonymous with the crime of voyeurism in the Palmetto State.
Riviere maintained an extensive hidden-camera network at multiple properties – amassing a staggering four terabytes worth of incriminating data over the years. The 72-year-old received just three years in prison for his expansive crimes, though.
During the segment, Andy was surprised on air with a special award from the citizens of Spartanburg County – who honored him via a moving tribute for his ongoing efforts to expose institutional corruption in the Palmetto Upstate.
In our final segment, Dylan Nolan and I discussed the extent to which fixing South Carolina’s broken court system has become (thanks to a growing chorus of reform-minded voices) the dominant issue in Palmetto politics of late – from a contentious race for the state’s supreme court to a recent bid to impeach a scandal-scarred solicitor.
Once again, thanks to everyone who watched this week’s program and remember – your support enables everything we do at FITSNews. The lights, the cameras, the accountability… all of it is a direct result of your subscriptions. So, if you value the sort of independent, unapologetic coverage we provide – please help us out and consider subscribing today!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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