Notification system to be expanded

Victims will have access to uniform, statewide service

COLUMBIA — Victims across South Carolina will be able to track inmates' transfers, release dates and other information as the state's automated notification system is expanded, Gov. Mark Sanford announced Wednesday.

The state Department of Corrections received a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice it will use with matching state dollars to establish the service. It will be similar to the Victim Information and Notification Everyday service used in Charleston County.

"This will put notification and information at the victims' fingertips," said Barbara Grissom, director of the victim services division of the Corrections Department.

The Corrections Department, which implemented its own version of victim notification in 2001, will connect county detention centers and the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services to one system. It should take two years to fully implement.

Victims will be able to sign up to receive automated telephone calls, e-mails or letters with news concerning a specific offender. Victims and others also can check information 24 hours a day by calling in. A link connecting the caller to an offender is required.

Lavonia Gadsden of West Ashley said she receives alerts from the Corrections Department about two inmates convicted in the 1992 murder of her son whenever the defendants get transferred or there is action in the case.

"I want to know exactly what they are up to," Gadsden said. "I don't want them to get out."

While services are in place on a statewide level and in Charleston and Lexington counties, a uniform system will make it easier on victims by providing consistent information and a single point of contact, Corrections Department Director Jon Ozmint said.

In Charleston, the notification system was established about nine years ago, said Mitch Lucas, chief deputy of the county's Sheriff's Office.

Lucas said the statewide system could free up about $40,000 for the county to divert to other victim services, although some local money might be needed for the statewide service. The Corrections Department is currently designing the specifications of the system.

Lessons learned from the case of Mary Lynn Witherspoon, a Charleston woman who was murdered by her stalker in 2003, will be taken into account when developing the statewide system, Grissom said. The system repeatedly tried to reach Witherspoon by phone but was not successful, and a letter that had erroneous information did not reach her home until after her death.

Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.