He killed a Conway taxi driver during a botched robbery. Now he wants out of prison
After spending less than a year in prison for killing a Conway taxi driver during a robbery, the man who pulled the trigger says he wants a new trial.
Tranique Livingston filed his post-conviction request in Horry County court this week. The filing allows a convicted person to say why they should get a new trial.
Livingston pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for killing David Bennett. In March 2019, a judge sentenced Livingston to 30 years in prison. Livingston turned 18 years old just months before the killing.
In November 2016, Bennett, 54, was shot and killed in his cab on Dillon Street in Conway. Police say he was killed during an armed robbery
Joan Dow, Bennett’s sister, asked during the sentencing hearing for Livingston to be sentenced to the maximum 30 years in prison. She said their family will never see Bennett again and there was no good in letting Livingston walk free.
“My brother Dave Bennett was a good man,” she said at that time.
Even when Livingston is released, he will still be younger than the person he killed, Dow said.
Livingston argued that his lawyer failed to investigate and adequately prepare his case. As a result, his plea was involuntary.
“[The attorney] failed to engage in meaningful plea negotiations,” Livingstone wrote in the filing, without providing further details.
Livingston is being held at the high-security prison, Lee Correctional Institution, in Bishopville. Earlier this month, Livingston was disciplined at the prison for having drugs and his punishments included loss of television privileges for a year and 60 days of discipline detention.
