Judge Eugene P. Warr Jr. sentenced Cassandra Escobar to three years to serve in the shooting of Caleb James.

Tuesday's order is the sentence on the voluntary-manslaughter plea. WPDE reported three years to serve inside a 10-year sentence, then five years of probation, and a statutory range of 2 to 30 years. The February 2022 murder indictment is the earlier charge. It is not the plea.

WPDE reported Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, that South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Eugene P. Warr Jr. sentenced Cassandra Escobar to 10 years, suspended upon service of three years in prison, followed by five years of probation, after she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Caleb James, 18. The station reported the plea came during the week her murder trial was supposed to begin, and that she received credit for four days served before she was released on bond. WPDE reported voluntary manslaughter carries 2 to 30 years. Three years to serve, inside a 10-year sentence, plus five years of probation, is the term the station reported from that hearing. The four days are credit against it.

WPDE reported James was shot on May 13, 2021, on White Sand Circle in Hartsville, that Escobar initially faced an involuntary-manslaughter charge, and that a Darlington County grand jury indicted her on murder in February 2022. The station's Feb. 17, 2022 story, a Thursday, reported a release from Darlington County Sheriff James Judson Jr. on the arrest, and in the next sentence said Hudson said she was charged with involuntary manslaughter and then indicted that Thursday for murder. The story does not say who Hudson is. Judson and Hudson are the two names that story printed. The Feb. 17 story reported the incident report said that when deputies arrived, Escobar said James was playing with his gun and accidentally shot himself. It reported Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee said the death was being investigated as a homicide and that, after almost a month, the coroner determined he was shot by another person. The self-inflicted account is what the station said she told deputies. The coroner's finding that another person shot him is what the station said the investigation later determined. The murder indictment is the February 2022 charge. Tuesday's plea was to voluntary manslaughter.

WPDE reported James's father, Brandon Peavy, told the court that his life mattered, and that his sister, Abby Lear, asked for the maximum sentence permitted and told the judge to consider the 18 years he lived and the decades he was denied. It reported his mother, Jessica Peavy, said, "I have nothing left," and, "I forgive her, but forgiveness does not erase accountability." It reported WPDE quoted an obituary that said he was a senior at McBee High School. He was 18. Escobar's lawyer, Robert Stucks, told the court he became involved about five months ago, the station reported. Stucks said she gave a statement to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division admitting she shot James but did not realize the gun was loaded, and that she told investigators she and James always played with guns. "There was nothing in the case file to suggest any malice," Stucks said, according to WPDE. That is the lawyer's argument. It is not a finding that the file contained no evidence of malice. WPDE reported Stucks said she took a polygraph administered by SLED, that he asked for a five-year sentence suspended to one year active and probation, and that her mother, Jennifer Jimenez, asked the judge to have mercy on her child. Escobar told the court, "I take full accountability for everything that's happened. I can't take back anything that's happened. If I could, I would. Again, I'm sorry," WPDE reported.

WPDE reported Warr told the courtroom he had never found words that would help the people there leave feeling better, and said, "We will not have perfect justice in this world. But as best we can do it, that's what we do." The guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter is the conviction on that count. The 10-year sentence, suspended to three years in prison, followed by five years of probation, is the judgment Judge Warr imposed. The February murder indictment is not the count of conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.