By John Monk
The State
LEXINGTON, SC — The convicted killer in the brutal 1995 slaying of a Lexington High School 10th grader won’t be getting out of prison early.
At a hearing Thursday afternoon at the Westbrook Lexington County courthouse, lawyers for Calen Radwill, and Radwill himself, agreed not to seek a projected early release day.
In 2005, Radwill, 36, pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of Brandon Vinson, 15, whose body was found in a rural area.
Radwill was originally projected to be released on Aug. 31, 2015, and not a day sooner, according to a legal contract between prosecutors and Radwill’s defense lawyers negotiated in 2005. Such contracts are rare but drawn up in cases where prosecutors want to make certain the inmate serves every day of the sentence.
However, in Radwill’s case, the S.C. Department of Corrections moved his release date up to Nov. 23 of this year. Since Corrections often releases inmates on the first day of the month their release date falls, that meant Radwill would be getting out on Nov. 1.
Radwill was originally arrested in 1995 and spent 10 years behind bars in the Lexington County jail before his defense lawyers reached a deal with prosecutors that he would plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and kidnapping and serve 10 more years in prison.
In the past year, Vinson family members saw on the S.C. Department of Corrections Internet site that Radwill’s release date had been changed from Aug. 31, 2015, to Nov. 23 of this year.
After lobbying various government officials, Brandon Vinson’s mother, Donna Ebert, finally convinced prosecutor Barry Barnette to request a hearing before Judge William Keesley to ask Keesley to order the Department of Corrections not to release Radwill until next Aug. 31. Barnette is 7th Circuit Solicitor and helped handle the 2005 plea after 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers’ office was conflicted out.
At a six-minute hearing Thursday at the Westbrook Lexington County courthouse, Radwill’s lawyers told Keesley that Radwill wants to abide by the 2005 contract and accepts the Aug. 31 release date.
After the hearing, one of Radwill’s lawyers, Jack Duncan, said Radwill always intended to abide by his plea contract and it was the Department of Corrections that moved his release date up. A DOC spokesman was not available Thursday afternoon.
Vinson’s family members said they were relieved and wanted Radwill to serve his entire sentence.
“This was a little bit of justice,” said Brandon’s mother. “We want him to serve every single day.”