{"id":1037,"date":"2026-06-06T15:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2026-06-06T15:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:07:41","slug":"exclusive-what-solicitor-says-about-charges-in-the-chow-trial-after-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1037","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: what solicitor says about charges in the Chow trial after verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Days after a jury returned a not guilty verdict in the case of The State of South Carolina vs. Rick Chow, 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson offered insights into the case.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1035\">If an SC copperhead snake or rattlesnake bites you and you have no cell service, here\u2019s what to do<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In an exclusive interview with The State, Gipson responded to claims \u2014 by people on social media, in S.C. and beyond \u2014 that, perhaps, if lesser changes were included in the Chow case, a conviction could\u2019ve been secured.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Evidence presented during trial never afforded the opportunity for a charge less than murder, Gipson said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe facts we knew from the law enforcement investigation, and our additional investigation into this matter did not suggest that any lesser charges were proper,\u201d Gipson said, adding the prosecution \u201crespected the jury\u2019s verdict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Despite reports that lesser charges \u2014 including voluntary manslaughter \u2014 were originally included with Chow\u2019s indictment and later dropped, Gipson said Chow was only charged and indicted for murder.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Murder is what the \u201csheriff\u2019s department charged him for, that\u2019s what he was indicted for by a Richland County grand jury, and that\u2019s what we went to trial on,\u201d Gipson said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For a lesser charge to have been included against Chow \u2014 that was not previously charged \u2014 Circuit Court Judge Heath Taylor would\u2019ve had to hear evidence during trial that suggested Chow was potentially guilty of said charge or the defense would\u2019ve had to ask for its inclusion, Gipson explained.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The prosecution would then have to agree. But that didn\u2019t happen, according to Gipson.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1033\">Chemicals with toxic bite found in SC crops years after farms used tainted fertilizer<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Prior bad acts<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Another point of contention, in reaction to the verdict, is the fact that on two prior occasions, Chow pulled his .45-calibur Glock handgun and discharged his weapon against a patron accused of shoplifting \u2014 something the jury was never made aware of.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick Chow shot (at) two people before &#8230; and none of that information could be brought to light (before the jury),\u201d Nicole Carmack said, during a memorial for Carmack-Belton Thursday. \u201cI do not think that is fair, and if that\u2019s on the law books, that needs to be changed, because if that wasn\u2019t on the (books) then my son would\u2019ve gotten justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>While Carmack understood the blockade of Chow\u2019s previous acts as a law, it\u2019s actually a rule of evidence.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Under the rules, a defendant\u2019s bad or prior acts can only be heard by the jury if the defense \u201copens the door,\u201d and lays \u201ca proper foundation\u201d Gipson said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s to say, the defense would\u2019ve had to call Chow to the witness stand and began questioning him about other instances where he used his weapon in defense of suspected shoplifters.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That, however, never happened as Chow declined to testify in his defense.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Even had evidence of Chow\u2019s prior actions were made known to the jury, it\u2019s important to note that Chow was never charged or convicted in connection to those prior acts, Gipson said, citing a difference in the Alex Murdaugh case.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>During the Murdaugh trial, prosecutors leaned on the disgraced lawyer\u2019s \u201cprior bad acts\u201d \u2014 specifically his extensive financial fraud \u2014 to establish a motive, arguing he killed his wife and son to distract from his financial crimes. The trial judge allowed over 12 hours of this testimony as Murdaugh elected to take the stand in his defense.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1032\">Chemicals with toxic bite found in SC crops years after farms used tainted fertilizer<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson shared insights following a not guilty verdict in the Rick Chow case. Chow was absolved of murdering Cyrus Carmack-Belton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exclusive: what solicitor says about charges in the Chow trial after verdict - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1037\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive: what solicitor says about charges in the Chow trial after verdict - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson shared insights following a not guilty verdict in the Rick Chow case. 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