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by ERIN PARROTT
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South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson announced this week that two correctional officers had been indicted in connection with an expanding public corruption probe tied to contraband smuggling inside one of the Palmetto State’s most notorious prisons.
According to Wilson’s office, Niccole Matthews Al-Saddiq and Candace Elizabeth Smith – both sworn officers with the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) – are facing charges tied to alleged illicit relationships with inmates and a scheme to funnel contraband into Lee Correctional Institution.
Lee is a “close” security prison – or a maximum security prison – located in Bishopville, S.C.
The charges announced by Wilson are part of an ongoing, multi-agency investigation known as ‘Clean Sweep’ – which has already produced six indictments involving 14 defendants tied to corruption and contraband trafficking inside Palmetto prisons.
One of the indictments alleged a particularly egregious breach of duty – notably the claim that a correctional officer secretly “married” an inmate under her supervision while also assisting in the movement of contraband.
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As this outlet previously reported, contraband items – especially illegal cell phones – have helped enable criminal enterprises to flourish within South Carolina prisons, letting inmates coordinate drug trafficking, fraud schemes and acts of violence from behind bars.
Contraband phones also factored prominently in one of the most violent chapters in the state’s correctional history, a 2018 riot at Lee that left seven inmates dead and dozens more injured.
Nearly thirty inmates were charged in connection with that melee.
According to prosecutors, rival gangs used contraband phones to organize and escalate violence across multiple dorms inside the facility.
The indictments tied to the riot included charges ranging from murder and criminal conspiracy to assault and possession of weapons inside the prison – underscoring how deeply organized criminal activity had taken root within the institution. The latest charges against SCDC officers highlight another layer of the problem – how institutional corruption facilitates illegal activity.
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RELATED CONTRABAND PRISON PHONES, CORRUPT PUBLIC OFFICIALS|
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Authorities alleged the two officers abused their positions of trust – compromising institutional security and actively aiding the flow of dangerous contraband into the prison. Bond for both Al-Saddiq and Smith will be set upon their apprehension.
Wilson said his office will continue working alongside SLED, SCDC and local partners to root out corruption within the system.
SCDC director Joel Anderson echoed that message, stressing that the alleged conduct of these two officers does not reflect the agency as a whole but represents a serious betrayal of public trust.
Count on FITSNews to continue tracking developments tied to the ‘Clean Sweep’ investigation – and the broader effort to expose and dismantle corruption inside the Palmetto State’s correctional institutions.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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