Tant v. South Carolina Department of Corrections

I concur in the result but would adopt the following procedure should this circumstance arise again.

This case requires us to determine the appropriate procedure when the Department of Corrections seeks to increase an inmate’s sentence based upon the Department’s determination that it has misinterpreted that sentence. In my opinion, the onus for upward recalculations of sentences must be placed on the Department and not on the inmate, and the interpretation of the unclear sentence must be made by a judicial officer and not by an executive agency.5 I would therefore hold that when the…