Corruption in Oconee County Runs Deep

I was sentenced to jail in Oconee County without a case number on May 29, 2024. Think about that—no official record, no docket entry, nothing the public could verify. And yet, there I was, handed a jail sentence by Probate Judge Danny Singleton in the lobby outside the courtroom, with no due process, no fair trial, and no case number at all. I was arrested by the Oconee County Sheriff with no legal authority and held in jail on two separate occasions under the pretense of a “probate hold,” without any public record of any violation.

I was released on June 6, 2024, with a pending trial disguised as a civil hearing in the probate court. At this so-called trial on June 17, “Judge” Danny Singleton acted as the complaining party, the lead witness, the primary investigator, the prosecutor, and the judge. He called his own employees to the stand and personally questioned them. This was one of the most blatant cases of a judge weaponizing a courtroom that we have seen in America. Yes, there are cases with more tragic outcomes, but rarely in modern times has a judge been so brazen in using contempt charges as a weapon. His motivations and tactics are on full display for all to see, and he behaves as though he is immune from both the law and the United States Constitution.

Before the June 17 hearing, I had been approved for a court-appointed lawyer. But when it came time for trial, that right vanished. Judge Danny Singleton—a probate judge who should have been handling estate matters, not criminal trials—denied me the attorney I had already been approved for, claiming my case was “civil contempt,” not criminal, and therefore I did not qualify for a public defender. The head of the Public Defender’s Office, John Abdalla, collaborated with Singleton to strip me of my right to counsel by agreeing that this contempt charge was civil, not criminal.

They called it a “probate hold,” but there was no legal documentation for it—nothing that would justify keeping me behind bars. Still, I was held in the Oconee County Jail for about 40 days. In the only trial that actually took place—after I had already spent nearly 10 days locked up—Judge Singleton played every role you’re not supposed to combine. He was the complaining party, the witness, the judge, the investigator, and the prosecutor. He called two witnesses—both his own employees—and personally questioned them while presiding over the case. In the end, he sentenced me to an additional 50 days, openly stating on the court record that he wanted me to serve 60 days total, but since I had already served 10, that left 50 more. Either he has no understanding of what double jeopardy means—or he simply does not care.

After nearly 40 days, I was released on a personal recognizance bond pending appeal. But the release wasn’t real freedom. They left 20 days of my sentence hanging over my head like a sword, ready to drop if the appeal failed.

When the case reached Judge Lawton McIntosh of the Oconee County 10th Circuit Court, he had a chance to fix this obvious fraud. Instead, he upheld Singleton’s ruling and went a step further—he threatened me with more jail time for publishing the truth about this case on my own website, OconeeNews.org. That wasn’t justice. That was further persecution and intimidation. Judge McIntosh didn’t just rubber-stamp Singleton’s actions—he aided and abetted a criminal judge, protecting Danny Singleton’s misconduct instead of protecting the law.

Now, the case is in the South Carolina Court of Appeals. You’d think this would finally be where the facts matter. But no—the Attorney General’s Office, under Alan Wilson, is doing everything it can to get the case thrown out on procedural grounds. They’re not arguing the merits, because the merits are a disaster for them. If this case gets heard, the corruption will be plain for everyone to see.

So why is Wilson’s office fighting so hard? Because this case doesn’t just expose Singleton and McIntosh—it threatens to drag down the whole network: the public defender’s office, the 10th Circuit solicitor, and the rest of their allies. They’d rather bury the truth than face it. They’re protecting each other, not the public.

No one in this chain of events has shown the slightest interest in justice. What they have shown is exactly how far they’re willing to go to protect criminal judges, retaliate against people who speak out, and keep the public from knowing what really goes on inside Oconee County’s courtrooms.

And they think they can get away with it.

They’re wrong.