2 appeals in Bowen Turner case go before S.C. Court of Appeals
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - A three-judge from the South Carolina Appellate Court is now weighing two appeals in the Bowen Turner case after hearings Tuesday.
Turner is the Orangeburg County man who, as a teenager, was accused of multiple teenagers as well as violating bond more than 50 times.
Chloe Bess is one of three women who accused now 22-year-old Turner of sexually assaulting them when they were teenagers. She said being in court today left her feeling hopeful.
‘My son Colt is not a monster’: Mom of shooting suspect apologizes in letter
The mother of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter penned a letter to parents to apologize for her son’s alleged actions.
“The things that were said. It was nice to hear,” she said. “I just hope that the right decision is made. That way moving forward this doesn’t happen to other victims.”
The two appeals heard Tuesday involve Bess’s rights as a victim and whether Turner should have to stay a ed sex offender.
“A guy who was a teenage boy with an alcohol problem when this all occurred, certainly being placed on the sex offender registry would super costly to any chance, any chance of a normal life,” Bob Dudek, Turner’s defense attorney, said.
As part of a sweetheart plea deal in 2022, Turner pleaded guilty to assault and battery and was given probation.
3rd teen officially identified as driver in fiery crash on Deans Bridge Road
A day after official confirmation came about the identities of the two kids killed in a fiery traffic accident on Deans Bridge Road last month, the Richmond County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased driver.
A month after that, he was arrested again for a separate incident and charged with disorderly conduct, possession of alcohol by a minor and threatening a public employee. Court documents show Turner threatened to bite off the finger of an Orangeburg County deputy when the deputy informed him of the jail’s COVID-19 protocols which required Turner to wear a mask.
Turner was subsequently required to as a sex offender.
In the appellate court, Turner’s attorney argued against adding him to the registry, saying the probation judge did not have the authority to do so and prosecutors did not show there was a valid reason or prove he was at risk of reoffending.
“The state has never, whether at the plea stage or certainly at the probation violation stage, showed good cause for Bowen to go on the sex offender registry,” Dudek said. “All we’re asking for is a full and fair hearing.”
‘All too late’: Shooting survivor speaks on murder suspect’s arrest
We broke the news about a murder suspect’s criminal past, along with disturbing details about the murder of a local mother over the weekend.
The state meanwhile argued the circuit court judge who originally sentenced Turner in 2022 did have the authority and any probation violation would mean Turner would automatically have to as a sex offender.
“The authority to put Mr. Turner on the sex offender registry came from that original plea,” Matthew Buchanan, who works for the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services said in court.
In the other Turner case today, Bess’s attorneys argue her rights were violated when she was not allowed to make a statement in court before Turner accepted his plea deal in 2022. They’re asking the appellate judges to create a rule to protect victims’ right to be heard in court.
Companies behind Murdaugh documentaries want libel case moved to federal court
The production companies accused of spreading false rumors about Alex Murdaugh’s eldest son have elevated the ongoing litigation to federal court.
“Let’s make it a rule, a procedure, for our criminal court and our judges to say, ‘Yes, we will hear from victims at a point that’s meaningful for them,’” Sarah Ford, Bess’s attorney, said. “If we wait until after the plea is accepted, that means them being heard is simply a checkmark and victims do not need to be treated like a check mark.”
The state, however, argued the appellate court doesn’t have the power to create this procedure.
“Our constitutional provision left it very broad as we heard and left it to our general assembly to define what being heard means,” Mark Farthing, an attorney with the state Attorney General’s Office said.
Bess’s attorney believes prosecutors should be on the side of the victim.
“Our prosecutors work for us,” Meliah Bowers Jefferson, one of Bess’s attorneys, said. “They work for all the people of South Carolina, including the victim. And to not want the victim to be heard before a guilty plea is accepted or rejected seems counterintuitive to our entire system.”
“While it will likely be months or longer before the three-judge hands down a decision for these cases, Bess says more than five years after her alleged assault, today is one of the first days she feels ed and validated by the court system and by one of the judges on the . “To have someone up there in that position of power using her voice as well to ask the right questions and kind of get down to things, it was very, very refreshing,” Bess said.
Turner, meanwhile, is currently in the custody of the state Department of Corrections.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
