‘We will be back:’ Horry County top prosecutor vows to keep 1991 killer behind bars
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County’s top prosecutor said Monday his office will continue to argue against parole for a Conway man convicted in 1991 of raping and killing his high school classmate.
“In 2026, we will be back asking the parole board asking them not to allow him to come out of prison,” 15th Circuit Court Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said Monday about Johnnie Kenneth “Ken” Register.
Now 50, Register was convicted in the murder of 17-year-old Crystal Faye Todd in a case that rose to fame as South Carolina’s first to ever use DNA.
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Register was given a life sentence, but under state law at the time, would be eligible for parole every two years after serving his initial 30.
In February 2022, Register waived his right for a hearing. The state’s Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services on Feb. 28 rejected his early release.
Richardson said in his weekly update that Ralph Wilson, who was solicitor at the time of Register’s conviction, joined about 20 of Todd’s family members in testifying against Register at the hearing.
“It was enough to keep him in prison,” Richardson said.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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