State v. Hawes

With no provocation, Respondent Alonzo Hawes shot and killed his estranged wife in the presence of their children. Following a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, the trial court granted Hawes’s section 16-25-90 motion for eligibility for early parole, which the court of appeals affirmed. State v. Hawes, 399 S.C. 211, 730 S.E.2d 904 (Ct.App.2012). We issued a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals’ decision. Because the trial court failed to exercise discretion, which was likely the result of its reliance on a prior version of section 16-25-90, we vacate the court of appeals’…