The Detention Center
Not found
- Operated byNot stated on the pages read
- Detention center phone (directory)843-529-7300
- Detention operations phone (directory)843-529-3505
- Facility nameAl Cannon Detention Center expected but not confirmed on a county page
- Jail AdministratorStan Davis (detention facility director, per association directory)
Source: South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory · checked 2026-09-29
Transparency rating
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Carl Ritchie
- CurrentNamed in the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory; not confirmed on a county page
- Runs the jailNot stated on the pages read
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory · checked 2026-09-29
The Judges
South Carolina's circuit court judges are elected by the General Assembly and hear felony cases. For most charges a magistrate sets bond soon after arrest; for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment only a circuit judge can.
Who sets bail in Charleston County
- Circuit Court: South Carolina's Ninth Judicial Circuit, which also serves Berkeley. Circuit judges are elected by the General Assembly to six-year terms and hear felony cases; for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment only a circuit judge can set bond.
- Magistrate Court: the Charleston County magistrates. For most charges a magistrate sets bond soon after arrest.
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-29
The County Council
They pay for the jail. Depending on the county, the sheriff or a county detention department runs it.
- What they controlThe county budget that funds the detention center and the sheriff's office, and the jail building itself. In counties where the sheriff has handed the jail to the county, the council's administrator runs it.
- What they don'tDay-to-day operations where the sheriff keeps the jail (S.C. Code 24-5-10). The state Department of Corrections inspects every detention center each year (S.C. Code 24-9-20).
- NoteCouncil page not opened; county site refused our reader.
- The boardCharleston County Council
- Where the jail money is decidedNot found
Notes on the record
- Not examined: no page on the county's or sheriff's own site could be opened.
- Seat, sheriff, jail phone and detention director come only from the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory page.
- What was tried: https://sheriff.charlestoncounty.gov/ (refused, PROVENANCE_REQUIRED); association page opened.
- One WebSearch used; https://sheriff.charlestoncounty.org/detention.php and https://sheriff.charlestoncounty.org/ returned a 'You are blocked from accessing this Web page' filter page; https://www.charlestoncounty.gov/departments/sheriff/chain.php returned the same block; https://www.charlestoncounty.gov/ refused.
- State inspection/oversight: The South Carolina Department of Corrections must inspect every county detention center each year and send written reports to county officials (S.C. Code 24-9-20). A county earns the inspections mark here only if it posts such a report on its own site.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Charleston County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff is elected. So are the county council members who pay for the jail.
Names verified 2026-09-29 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered