Attorneys

He’s a leader on the firm’s Criminal Justice Civil Rights Team that’s sued Richland County. The litigation asks for improvements of the inhumane conditions at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. A U.S. Justice Department investigation determined that detainees’ Constitutional rights are violated at the jail, which has failed to “to provide reasonable safety and to protect incarcerated people from serious harm and death by physical violence from other incarcerated people, including assaults with weapons, assaults by multiple people on single victims and sexual assaults.”

Ashley is intensely interested in jail and prison reform throughout the state. He wants to improve the mental health services provided to those accused of crimes as well as for imprisoned individuals.

His practice at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel focuses on civil rights law, such as federal Section 1983 Civil Rights lawsuits and South Carolina Tort Claims that allow victims of government wrongdoing to recover damages. These actions include personal injury lawsuits and cases involving excessive force by law enforcement and police-involved shootings.

Recently honored by the Charleston County Bar with its rarely given James Louis Petigru Award for lifetime achievement, Ashley worked for decades as a criminal defense attorney. He has spent most of his career defending difficult and complex murder cases, including persons facing the death penalty. He has never had a client sentenced to death, except those who chose to represent themselves.

Ashley led the public defender offices in Berkeley and Charleston counties for 16 years. He supervised and mentored over 40 full-time attorneys. In 2022, the South Carolina Public Defender Association created a new Ashley Pennington award recognizing a young lawyer who exhibits tireless effort and zealous advocacy.

Much of Ashley’s motivation today stems from a desire to solve the problems that he saw during his long career as a defense attorney. His offices developed holistic representation that provided the rehabilitative assistance clients needed to avoid the revolving door leading back to prison. These offices worked to connect clients with the services that they needed, such as housing assistance, employment counseling and more.

Ashley worked to develop a Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 2015 that promotes collaboration and fairness in criminal-justice policies in Charleston.

The founder of the non-profit SC Re-Entry Initiative in the 2000’s, Ashley continues to volunteer his time to help formerly incarcerated people successfully reintegrate into society.

Ashley graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He practiced in the Richland County Public Defender’s Office and as a federal public defender in Chicago before settling in Charleston.