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| S.C. High Court throws out inmate labor suit |
| By blufftontoday.com |
| Published: 02/24/2012 |
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COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal that a convicted murderer housed in Jasper County’s Ridgeland Correctional Institution had brought against the S.C. Department of Corrections. Billy Joe Cartrette has been navigating the state judicial system for years, starting with an internal department grievance, to the Administrative Law Court in 2006 and later to the desk of Jasper County Circuit Court Judge James C. Williams, Jr. Cartrette, 53, has been arguing that he was paid too little to work for Kwalu Furniture as part of Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program, and that his wages should not have been partially diverted to a victim assistance fund and to offset his room and board. According to an appellate decision in 2010 that found Cartrette was entitled to overtime wages, about 2,200 inmates perform jobs with the Prison Industries Program, earning an hourly wage of 35 cents to $10. Cartrette made an hourly wage of $5.50 but argued that non-inmates doing comparable work made as much as $14. Convicts participating in the voluntary program work with hardwood flooring, apparel, computer wire harnesses, furniture, faucet handles, bookcases, mattresses, furniture and textiles. Customers included state, county, municipal offices, school districts, as well as the private sector. A portion of earnings may be spent on incidentals within the prison, such as soft drinks, or saved in an account to use upon release. But first taxes, restitution, child support and incarceration costs, such as room and board, are first taken out of inmates’ earnings. Read More. |
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