Clarendon County, South Carolina — The Jail, the Sheriff, the Judges

The Detention Center

Clarendon County Detention Center

Operated byCounty (detention center department)
Jail address320 E. Boyce Street, Manning, SC 29102
Main phone803-433-3131
Booking & release803-435-8831 or 803-435-0697
Operator basisListed under 'Our Government' on the county site with its own director; budgeted as a Corrections department separate from the Sheriff (FY2027 budget)
FY2027 Corrections budget$3,996,150 (Sheriff: $7,144,220)
Bond hearingsFour assigned magistrates rotate weekly; bail/bond hearings 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM daily
Other agenciesFY2027 budget shows 'Municipal Inmate Housing' revenue of $7,500
ServicesCash-free facility; Access Corrections (money/commissary), IC Solutions (phone), GettingOut (video visits) - no rates shown
Jail AdministratorCol. Shelton L. Hughes, Jr. (Director, per county detention center page)

Source: Clarendon County - Detention Center · checked 2026-09-29

Transparency rating

2/10Closed

✓The jail is named
✗Who is in custody — not published
✗Beds and daily population — not published
✓What it costs taxpayers
✗Deaths in custody — not published
✗PREA audits — not published
✗Independent inspection — not published
✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
✗How to post bond — not published
✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Clarendon County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-29. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

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 Tim Baxley

CurrentNamed as Sheriff of Clarendon County on the sheriff's own website
Runs the jailNot stated on the pages read; the sheriff's site carries no jail material, and the county site lists the Detention Center as its own department with its own director
Office address217 Commerce St., Manning, SC 29102

Still needed

Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail

Source: Clarendon County Sheriff's Office · 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 Clarendon County

Circuit Court: South Carolina's Third Judicial Circuit, which also serves Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg. 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 Clarendon County magistrates. For most charges a magistrate sets bond soon after arrest.

Still needed

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).
NoteAgendas, packets and approved minutes posted (latest agenda 14 Sep 2026; latest minutes 13 Jul 2026).
The boardClarendon County Council →
Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →

Notes on the record

Examined this pass. County site clarendoncountysc.gov and sheriff site clarendon-sheriff.org both opened; both confirm Clarendon County, South Carolina.
Opened: https://www.clarendoncountysc.gov/our-government/detention-center/, https://clarendoncountysc.gov/detention-center, /our-government/finance/, /our-government/county-administration/, /our-government/county-council-agendas-and-minutes/, the FY2027 budget PDF, https://clarendon-sheriff.org/ and /contact/.
Budget credited: FY2027 county budget shows a Corrections department ($3,996,150) with lines for dieting of prisoners, medical care and detainee supplies.
Bond: detention page describes magistrate bail hearings (times, rotation) but not how to post bond, so bond_info not credited.
Fees: vendors named (Access Corrections, IC Solutions, GettingOut, MyCarepack) but no rates published on the county page.
No roster, capacity, PREA, deaths, inspection report or contracts found on the pages opened.
The detention page's linked PDF (labeled 'Update on personal mail') had no readable text.
One WebSearch used.
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 Clarendon 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