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State Reform Profile

South Carolina

South Carolina cut its prison population by 14% through 2010 bipartisan reforms.

ALTREFORM COMPOSITE79/100

Key Statistics

Incarceration Rate
427
per 100,000 residents
Annual Cost
$23K
per incarcerated person
3-Year Recidivism
67%
reincarcerated within 3 yrs
Racial Disparity
3.7×
Black vs. White incarceration
Alt. Programs
17
active diversion programs
Reform Initiatives
5
tracked by AltReform

Incarceration by Race

SC Overall427
National Avg568
Black (est.)948
White (est.)205

Incarceration rate per 100,000 residents. Racial estimates based on BJS/Sentencing Project methodology.

Recidivism Rate

67%3-year recidivism
This stateNational avg: 67%

Percent of people reincarcerated within 3 years of release. Source: BJS recidivism data series.

Cost vs. Alternatives

$23K
incarceration/yr
vs.
~$5K
diversion/yr

Active & Passed Reforms

2 initiatives

Omnibus Crime Reduction ActView full details →

Major sentencing reform reducing parole revocations and expanding alternatives.

PassedSentencing2010
AltReform Score83/100

Second Step ActView full details →

Workforce training for incarcerated people within 2 years of release.

ActiveReentry2021
AltReform Score74/100

Data Sources & Methodology

Reform data sourced from state legislative records, BJS Criminal Justice Statistics, the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends dataset, and The Sentencing Project. AltReform prediction scores (0,100) are generated by our ML model trained on 20+ years of state-level reform outcomes, weighting recidivism reduction, racial equity impact, cost-effectiveness, and political feasibility. Statistics are the most recent available (2021,2024).

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