SC prisons director to become interim U.S. attorney

COLUMBIA — The director of South Carolina’s prisons agency is expected to be the state’s next U.S. attorney, sources have confirmed to the SC Daily Gazette.

Bryan Stirling’s new job was first reported by The State newspaper, citing anonymous sources. The Gazette was able to confirm with two sources with knowledge of the move.

The announcement, planned for Monday, comes two months after President Donald Trump’s administration removed Adair Ford Boroughs as the state’s lead federal prosecutor, a role she had filled since July 2022. Boroughs’ assistant attorney Brook Andrews has been acting U.S. attorney since.

SC’s U.S. attorney removed by Trump administration

Stirling will begin as interim attorney Monday. The Trump administration is expected to officially nominate him as U.S. attorney after that, sources said.

Stirling, 55, has overseen the state’s 21 prisons since 2013, when then-Gov. Nikki Haley nominated him to the position. The Department of Corrections has more than 3,700 employees responsible for caring for more than 16,000 inmates.

As prisons director, Stirling has cracked down on contraband coming into prisons, including pushing for a change in federal law to make inmates’ illicit cellphones useless. He successfully asked legislators to raise pay for corrections officers in an effort to recruit and retain them. And he oversaw a number of programs meant to keep inmates from returning to prison after release.

Stirling also led the department through a 2018 prison riot that left seven inmates dead and the restarting of executions after 13 years, including the first conducted by firing squad in state history.

As interim U.S. attorney, Stirling would be in charge of 140 employees responsible for criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits across the state.

Stirling’s name was among those floated for the position during Trump’s first term.

Trump eventually nominated Columbia attorney Sherri Lydon, who was in the position for less than two years. Her successor, Peter McCoy, was confirmed in June 2020 and stepped down eight months later at the request of the Biden administration.

Stirling has a long background in South Carolina government.

Before becoming director of the state’s prison system, Stirling was Haley’s chief of staff.

Prior to that, he was deputy attorney general during Gov. Henry McMaster’s two terms as attorney general.

A Boston native, Stirling received both his bachelor’s degree (1991) and his law degree (1996) from the University of South Carolina. He spent a decade working for private firms before becoming a public prosecutor.

Soon after Boroughs’ exit was announced, McMaster told reporters he thought Stirling would be a good choice to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“He really is an extraordinary man,” McMaster said at the time. “He would be excellent in any office.”