South Carolina prisons director is named the new US attorney for the state

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The man who has led South Carolina prisons for more than a decade was named as the top federal prosecutor for the state on Monday.

Bryan Stirling took the oath of office in a private ceremony at the federal courthouse in Columbia, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

Stirling has run the South Carolina Department of Corrections since 2013, receiving praise from a wide range of officials and lawmakers for reducing the number of inmates who return to prison after committing additional crimes, fighting drugs, cellphones and other contraband and improving prison conditions.

Stirling takes over for Adair Boroughs, who was appointed under Democratic President Joe Biden and left after Republican Donald Trump became president earlier this year.

Stirling was born in Boston and came to the University of South Carolina as an undergraduate and earned his law degree from the school in 1996.

Stirling worked for the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office before becoming chief of staff for Gov. Nikki Haley in October 2012.

As U.S. Attorney in the District of South Carolina, Stirling will oversee 120 prosecutors and other employees in the agency with offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and Florence. The U.S. attorney’s office also represents the federal government in some civil matters

Current Gov. Henry McMaster praised Stirling as one of the best prisons directors in the country, evidenced by how many other states follow his model.

“He revolutionized South Carolina’s reentry programs, resulting in the lowest recidivism rate in the country, and his efforts to combat contraband cell phones have made all our communities safer,” McMaster said in a statement.

McMaster named the prison agency’s deputy director of operations, Joel Anderson, as acting director. Anderson has held that job since 2019 and also worked with prisons in Texas and Florida.