Courts and Self‑Defense Law

A South Carolina circuit judge has ruled that Charles Weldon Boyd cannot claim immunity under the state’s 'Stand Your Ground' law in the 2023 shooting death of North Carolina insurance adjuster Scott Spivey, clearing the way for a wrongful‑death lawsuit by Spivey’s family to proceed. After a four‑day hearing that included witness testimony, 911 calls and secretly recorded phone conversations between Boyd and a Horry County police official, Judge Eugene Griffith said Boyd’s account was inconsistent with physical evidence and other testimony and that his credibility was 'lacking in many places.' Local prosecutors had previously declined to bring criminal charges, saying the shooting fit within South Carolina’s self‑defense statute, but the family’s civil suit argues Boyd and a second man, Kenneth 'Bradley' Williams, escalated a roadside confrontation that began on Highway 9 and continued onto Camp Swamp Road near Loris. The judge’s decision applies only to Boyd; a separate ruling on Williams’ bid for immunity is still pending. Outside court, the family’s attorney, Mark Tinsley, sharply criticized state investigators and the attorney general’s office for what he called a failure to fully review evidence before accepting the self‑defense narrative.