Former Haley chief of staff takes over SC prisons

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Gov. Nikki Haley’s former chief of staff is officially taking the help of South Carolina’s prisons agency. On Tuesday, Bryan Stirling is assuming control of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Last month, Haley announced that she had selected Stirling to replace Bill Byars, who is retiring after decades in public service. Before serving as Corrections director, Byars also headed up the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice. Stirling served as Haley’s chief of staff for about a year. The University of South Carolina School of Law graduate came to her administration from the Office of the Attorney General, where he served as a deputy under top prosecutor Alan Wilson and his predecessor, Henry McMaster.