Title 17, Criminal Procedures

Any constable or sheriff to whom such warrant shall come shall forthwith execute the warrant and repair unto the place at the time therein mentioned and make return of the warrant, with his proceedings thereon, to the coroner that granted it. Every constable or sheriff failing to…

Of the jurors summoned and appearing the coroner shall swear six and administer to the foreman, appointed by him, an oath in the form following: "You shall inquire and true presentment make on behalf of the State of South Carolina in what manner A B, here lying dead, came to his …

Whenever any county, state or municipal law enforcement agency transports a human body to a medical facility for autopsy or other medical examination to determine the cause of death, the law enforcement agency which ordered such medical examination shall provide for the return tr…

The jury so sworn shall be charged by the coroner to declare, upon oath, whether the deceased came to his death: (1) By mischance and accident or by felony; (2) If by felony, whether by his own or another's; (3) If by mischance, whether by the act of God or of man; (4) If by anot…

If the jury so charged find that the deceased came to his death by his own felony they shall further inquire into the manner, means and instrument and into all the circumstances of the death.

The coroner may issue warrants, summon witnesses and examine before the jury any person present, whether summoned or not, concerning the death. He shall serve a notice of hearing on any person who has been served with an arrest warrant charging him with causing death of the subje…

In addition to the authority contained in Section 17-7-170, a coroner also may issue subpoenas duces tecum to compel individuals to produce copies of documents or other materials which are relevant to a death investigation. Any law enforcement officer with appropriate jurisdictio…

Every person summoned or required to give evidence and disregarding such summons or refusing to testify, without such excuse as shall be lawful and sufficient, shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars and shall be committed to jail by the coroner until the next court of ge…

Whenever any person shall wilfully disturb or impede the proceedings of a jury of inquest while inquiring into the cause of any death or shall offer any contempt to the person or authority of the coroner while so engaged the coroner may commit such person to the common jail of th…

Whenever a body is found dead and an investigation or inquest is deemed advisable the coroner or the magistrate acting as coroner, as the case may be, shall go to the body and examine the witnesses most likely to be able to explain the cause of death, take their testimony in writ…

A coroner may, if he deems it necessary, adjourn the jury, either from day to day or to any other day and place, to receive evidence, binding the jurors severally by one recognizance, in such amount as he shall think fit, for their appearance. Such recognizance may be estreated a…

If all or any part of the jurors shall fail to reappear at the day and place to which they were adjourned the coroner shall issue his warrant to supply the places of the absent jury or of so many of the jurors absent as may be necessary. And the jurors last summoned shall be swor…

The witnesses examined upon the inquest shall be sworn as follows, by the coroner, who may administer the oath, that is to say: "The evidence you shall give to this inquest concerning the death of A B, here lying dead, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the trut…

The testimony of all witnesses examined upon an inquest shall be taken down in writing by the coroner and signed by the witnesses. If the testimony given tends to incriminate any person as concerned in the death of the deceased the coroner shall bind over the witness who gave it,…

The jury having viewed the body, heard the evidence and made inquiry into the cause and manner of the death shall render their verdict thereon, in writing, to the coroner under their hands and seals in the manner following, which shall pass by indenture interchangeably between th…

A coroner performing an autopsy on an unidentified body must obtain tissue and fluid samples suitable for DNA identification, typing, and testing. The samples must be transmitted to the State Law Enforcement Division.

If it shall appear that the deceased was wilfully killed by another the inquisition must be concluded in this form: "And so the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do say that the aforesaid J K, in manner and form aforesaid, E F then and there feloniously did kill, agai…

If the proof shall be that the death was occasioned by the hands of another the conclusion shall be: "That J K, the said E F, by misfortune and contrary to his will, in manner and form aforesaid, did kill and slay."

If it appears that the deceased died by self-murder the inquisition shall conclude: "That the said E F, in manner and form aforesaid, then and there voluntarily and feloniously himself did kill, against the peace and dignity of the same State aforesaid."

If it shall appear that the deceased came to his death by means unknown to the jury the inquisition shall conclude thus: "That the said E F was killed and murdered by some person or persons (or by some means) to the jurors unknown, against the peace and dignity of the same State …

If it appears that the deceased came to his death by mischance the finding shall conclude: "That E F, in manner and form aforesaid, came to his death by misfortune or accident."

The evidence and the finding of the officer on such preliminary examination shall be filed in the clerk's office of the county, the finding to be that deceased came to death (a) from natural cause, (b) at his own hand, (c) from an act of God or (d) from mischance, without blame o…

After the conclusion as prescribed in Sections 17-7-250 to 17-7-290, according to the facts, the inquisition shall end in this form:. "In witness whereof, I __________, coroner aforesaid, and the jurors aforesaid, to this inquisition have interchangeably put our hands and seal, t…

The original inquisition and evidence, as taken by him, shall be returned by the coroner within ten days next after the finding thereof to the clerk of the court of general sessions for the county in which it was found.

The coroner, before he returns such inquisition and evidence, shall endorse them in this form: "South Carolina, ) ________________ County, ) The State vs. The Dead Body of A. B. Inquisition taken this ______ day of __________, A. D. __________, by __________, coroner for said cou…

Every coroner shall keep a book to be called "The Coroner's Book of Inquisitions" into which he shall copy all inquests found within his county, together with evidence taken before the jury and all proceedings had before or after their findings. Such book shall be public property…

For his services as such, each coroner's juror sworn shall, except as otherwise herein provided, be allowed mileage, as all jurors in the circuit courts, and a per diem of fifty cents to be paid on certificate of the coroner or magistrate holding the inquest as jurors in the circ…

For such preliminary examination such officer shall receive the same fees paid in the same way as a magistrate for any ordinary preliminary examination in a criminal case, except that in counties in which the coroner receives a salary no fees shall be allowed to any officer for s…

It is unlawful for a person to bury or cause to be buried the dead body of a person supposed to have come to a violent death before notice to the coroner to examine the body and before inquiry is made into the manner and circumstances of the death. A person who violates the provi…

If the coroner shall know or be informed of the interment of a body of a person supposed to have come to a violent death he shall proceed to empanel a jury, as is directed in Article 1 of this chapter, and order such body to be taken up and shall conduct his examination into the …

If the body has been so long dead and buried or so injured by improper keeping as that the causes of the death cannot be ascertained upon the examination the coroner shall make a record of the fact, stating its condition, by whom and how long it had been kept or buried, the circu…

If the finding of the inquest be wilful killing by the hands or means of another the coroner shall forthwith issue his warrant directed to the sheriff or to one or more constables for the county for all the persons implicated by such finding.

Such warrant shall be in this form: "The State of South Carolina, By A B, coroner (or C D, magistrate, acting as coroner) for __________ County: To __________, sheriff of __________ County: "Whereas, by inquisition by me held on (time and place inserted) it was found that (here i…

Upon the return of such warrant and the arrest of the person or persons named therein the coroner shall proceed to commit him or them by warrant, in the following form: "To the sheriff or jailer of __________ County: You are hereby commanded and required to receive and keep in cl…

All sheriffs and jailers are required to receive and keep securely all persons so committed by the coroner.

If the finding of the inquest be that the deceased came to his death by mischance by the hands of another the coroner shall bind in recognizance, with sufficient surety, the party against whom the verdict has been rendered to appear at the next court of general sessions for the c…

Each county coroner, whenever a homicide has been committed in his county and the party committing such homicide has not been arrested or, having been arrested, has escaped custody before bill found, shall forward a report to the Governor within three days after the holding of an…

All coroners and magistrates shall file with the Public Service Commission, upon written request for it and the tender of a fee of nine cents per hundred words, an exact copy of all evidence and proceedings of inquests held over bodies when death is caused by any accidents whatev…

Subject to the provisions of SECTIONS 17-7-20 to 17-7-40 every coroner, within the county for which he has been elected or appointed, may take inquest of casual or violent deaths when the dead body is lying within his county. Provided, however, if a person is injured in one count…

Every coroner or other official responsible for performing the duties of coroner shall examine the body within eight hours of death of any driver and any pedestrian, sixteen years old or older, who dies within four hours of a motor vehicle accident or any swimmer or boat occupant…

All persons subject to jury duty in the circuit courts shall be liable to serve as jurors on an inquest on a dead body found within their county.