South Carolina Department of Corrections

The Director of SCDC

In January 2003, Governor Mark Sanford named Jon Ozmint as the Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC).

After graduation from The Citadel with honors, Jon attended the University of Alabama School of Law. He began his legal career by serving on active duty with the U.S. Navy, in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he served in various capacities in the criminal justice system. After four years with the submarine force in New London, Connecticut, Ozmint returned to his home of Anderson, SC. With prior service in the Army Reserve, Jon continued his military service after leaving active duty. He is currently a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Upon leaving active duty, Jon accepted a position as a prosecutor in the Tenth Circuit Solicitors Office. In 1994, the Attorney General appointed Ozmint as Deputy Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor for the Statewide Grand Jury. In that position Jon supervised the largest contingent of law enforcement agents, attorneys and staff in the Attorney General’s office. Focusing on large, multi-state drug conspiracies and public corruption, Ozmint successfully prosecuted drug traffickers from New York, Miami, California, Texas, Haiti, Cuba and Mexico. These efforts stopped thousands of pounds of illegal drugs from reaching South Carolina.

Ozmint also prosecuted public corruption across the entire state of South Carolina, including the successful prosecution of 15 public officials in the largest public corruption case in the history of South Carolina courts…the Sumter School District embezzlement cases. During his years in court, Jon maintained a 96% conviction rate and never lost a trial in circuit court.

In 2000 Ozmint left the Attorney General’s office and joined the law firm of Murphy and Grantland, PA., where he practiced until joining Governor Sanford’s Cabinet.

As Director, Jon has led the agency to focus on outcomes in every functional area. The Department is a model for efficiency and effectiveness. In the face of difficult budget cuts the agency has maintained an appropriate balance by improving safety and preserving and expanding effective programming. The agency mission of Safety, Service and Stewardship reminds SCDC employees to protect and serve in a fashion that always considers the taxpayers of South Carolina.

He currently serves as Chair of the Legal Issues Committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators.

Jon and his wife, Luanne have four children. Jon has served on various boards and commissions and is licensed to practice in several state and federal courts. The Ozmints attend Shandon Baptist Church, where Jon serves as a Sunday school teacher and Deacon. He is an avid hunter, a little league coach and an occasional runner, having completed six marathons.