Marlboro County’s embattled sheriff’s write-in bid fails

( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) – Within weeks of walking out of the federal courthouse in Florence, S.C. fresh off an acquittal in August, Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon went to work.

Lemon went back to the sheriff's office and took over from interim Sheriff Larry McNeil a few days after a federal jury found him not guilty of a civil rights violation stemming from a May 2020 jailhouse assault of an inmate.

In September, Lemon took out an advertisement in the local paper, announcing his candidacy as a write-in candidate. Lemon's name could not appear on the November ballot because he did not file to run during the filing timeframe from March 16 through April 1.

Just a few months before filing opened, a federal grand jury in Florence indicted Lemon and former Deputy Andrew Cook, each with a single count of Depravation of Rights Under Color of Law. The charge is a violation under the federal Civil Rights Act.

Lemon wouldn't stand trial on the charge until August. He was found not guilty on August 19, 2024. Lemon took his office back on August 22.

"Now, after fervent prayer and deep thought, I have decided to be a write-in candidate for your Sheriff of Marlboro County to continue serving and protecting you — the citizens of Marlboro County." the advertisement, published Sept. 11 stated.

Voters soundly rejected Lemon in the Nov. 5 contest . Early vote totals showed Lemon gathered just a few hundred votes in the early returns, dwarfed by both Charles English, the Republican challenger, and Larry McNeil, the Democrat challenger.

McNeil drubbed both Lemon and English, winning 10 of 15 precincts and nearly doubling the vote totals of both his challengers combined.

Lemon will hold onto power through the end of the year. McNeil will be sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2025.

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